(AP) - A cosmic blast last year - one of the most powerful explosions ever observed - probably originated in a supernova and the formation of a black hole, astronomers reported Thursday in the journal Nature. The burst of cosmic gamma rays leaves astronomers more convinced that these brief, but brilliant cosmic flashes are generated by the fiery collapse of massive, dying stars.
 
The short-lived gamma ray burst of March 26, 1998, was spotted by the European satellite BeppoSax, which relayed the burst's position. Using the Keck Telescope in Hawaii, astronomers from the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena say they analyzed the afterglow of the burst, but it quickly faded. The astronomers said they expected the burst's afterglow to quickly be replaced by the general brightness of the surrounding galaxy. Instead, light rebrightened "dramatically" at the position of the gamma ray burst, obscuring the galaxy itself.

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