juliensimon/gamma-ray-bursts

---
license: cc-by-4.0
pretty_name: "Fermi GBM Gamma-Ray Burst Catalog"
language:
- en
description: "GRB detections from Fermi Gamma-ray Burst Monitor with duration, flux, and spectral parameters"
task_categories:
- tabular-classification
tags:
- gamma-ray-burst
- grb
- fermi
- nasa
- astronomy
- high-energy
- open-data
size_categories:
- 1K<n<10K
---

# Fermi GBM Gamma-Ray Burst Catalog


Complete catalog of gamma-ray bursts detected by the
[Fermi Gamma-ray Burst Monitor (GBM)](https://fermi.gsfc.nasa.gov/ssc/data/access/gbm/),
sourced from NASA HEASARC. Currently **4,241** GRBs (707 short, 3,531 long).

## Dataset description

Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are the most energetic explosions in the universe. They come in
two classes based on duration: **short** GRBs (T90 < 2 s, from neutron star mergers) and
**long** GRBs (T90 >= 2 s, from massive star collapse). The Fermi GBM has been detecting
GRBs across the full unocculted sky since 2008.

This dataset includes duration measurements (T90, T50), fluence, peak flux, and Band
function spectral parameters for each burst.

## Schema

| Column | Type | Description |
|--------|------|-------------|
| `name` | string | GRB trigger name (e.g. "GRB230101123") |
| `trigger_time` | datetime | Trigger time (UTC) |
| `ra` | float | Right ascension (degrees) |
| `dec` | float | Declination (degrees) |
| `t90` | float | T90 duration in seconds (time containing 90% of fluence) |
| `t90_error` | float | T90 uncertainty |
| `t50` | float | T50 duration in seconds (time containing 50% of fluence) |
| `t50_error` | float | T50 uncertainty |
| `fluence` | float | Total fluence (erg/cm^2) |
| `fluence_error` | float | Fluence uncertainty |
| `flux_256` | float | Peak flux on 256 ms timescale (ph/cm^2/s) |
| `pflx_best_fitting_model` | string | Best-fit spectral model for peak flux |
| `flnc_band_ampl` | float | Band function amplitude |
| `flnc_band_epeak` | float | Band function peak energy (keV) |
| `flnc_band_alpha` | float | Band function low-energy index |
| `flnc_band_beta` | float | Band function high-energy index |
| `duration_class` | string | "short" (T90 < 2 s) or "long" (T90 >= 2 s) |

## Quick stats

- **4,241** gamma-ray bursts
- **707** short GRBs, **3,531** long GRBs
- Date range: **2008-07-14 to 2026-03-18**
- Brightest burst: **GRB221009553** (fluence 3.88e-02 erg/cm^2)

## Usage

```python
from datasets import load_dataset

ds = load_dataset("juliensimon/gamma-ray-bursts", split="train")
df = ds.to_pandas()

# Short vs long GRBs
short = df[df["duration_class"] == "short"]
long = df[df["duration_class"] == "long"]
print(f"{len(short):,} short, {len(long):,} long GRBs")

# Brightest bursts
top = df.nlargest(10, "fluence")[["name", "trigger_time", "fluence", "t90"]]

# T90 distribution
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
df["t90"].dropna().apply(lambda x: max(x, 1e-3)).hist(bins=50, log=True)
plt.xlabel("T90 (s)")
plt.title("GRB Duration Distribution")
```

## Data source

All data comes from the [Fermi GBM Burst Catalog](https://heasarc.gsfc.nasa.gov/W3Browse/fermi/fermigbrst.html)
hosted by NASA's High Energy Astrophysics Science Archive Research Center (HEASARC),
accessed via the TAP protocol.

## Update schedule

Weekly on Monday at 17:00 UTC via [GitHub Actions](https://github.com/juliensimon/space-datasets).

## Related datasets

- [space-track-satcat](https://huggingface.co/datasets/juliensimon/space-track-satcat) — NORAD Satellite Catalog
- [solar-flare-index](https://huggingface.co/datasets/juliensimon/solar-flare-index) — Solar flare observations
- [near-earth-objects](https://huggingface.co/datasets/juliensimon/near-earth-objects) — NEO close approaches

## Pipeline

Source code: [juliensimon/space-datasets](https://github.com/juliensimon/space-datasets)

## Citation

```bibtex
@dataset{gamma_ray_bursts,
author = {Simon, Julien},
title = {Fermi GBM Gamma-Ray Burst Catalog},
year = {2026},
publisher = {Hugging Face},
url = {https://huggingface.co/datasets/juliensimon/gamma-ray-bursts},
note = {Based on NASA HEASARC Fermi GBM Burst Catalog data}
}
```

## License

[CC-BY-4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)