Gamma-ray burst host galaxy GRB990712

This is an image of Gamma-ray Burst Host Galaxy GRB990712. Long-duration gamma-ray bursts are powerful flashes of high-energy radiation that are sometimes seen coming from supernovae ­— the explosions of extremely massive stars. This image is one of a set of images taken by NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope which show the galaxies that host these bursts and could help to tell us more about their cause.