When a massive star collapses to form a black hole, a burst of gamma rays results as particles are blasted outward at nearly the speed of light. This animation shows the most common type of gamma-ray burst. An end-on view of a jet greatly boosts its apparent brightness. One especially bright burst (GRB 130427A) was detected last April by the Fermi and Swift satellites. A Fermi image of that burst ends the animation sequence.

Video Credit: NASA