Recent observations of cosmic gamma -ray bursts.

The paper summarizes current knowledge of cosmic gamma ray bursts obtained from recent spaceborne observations. Three facts lie at the basis of interpreting gamma ray burst observations: (1) all measured event differential energy spectra appear to be alike, (2) there is no evidence that the event integral size spectrum departs from a -1.5 power law, and (3) the temporal structures of most events are consistent with a continuous flutter down to at least 30 msec throughout the event histories. Event-average spectra of 9 bursts observed with IMP-7 are presented, and the Vela size spectrum is compared with IMP-7 points, SAS-2 events, and balloon experiment limits.