... Credit Copyright: Dana Berry, NASA Explanation: What causes gamma-ray bursts? ... Long duration gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) have been localized , over the past few years, to blue regions in the universe rich in star formation. Massive young stars nearing the end of their short lives commonly explode in these regions. ... Over the past few months, short duration GRBs have finally been localized and found to occur in different types of regions -- not only blue regions rich in star formation. ...