Number 170 (Story #4), March 28, 1994 by Phillip F. Schewe and Ben Stein SOFT GAMMA RAY REPEATERS (SGR's) are celestial sources of gamma bursts. Only three are known to exist in our galaxy. Unlike the larger sample of gamma bursts---more than a thousand discovered in recent years by the Gamma Ray Observatory---bursts from SGR's are repeated and are at lower ("softer") gamma energies. The first SGR was discovered 15 years ago. Its apparent association with a supernova remnant was doubted by some, but now a counterpart of the second SGR, an object called SGR1806, has been observed at x-ray (with the ASCA spacecraft) and radio (with the VLA telescope) wavelengths. The gamma-ray and x-ray observations were made while the object was in the act of emitting bursts. The astronomers involved believe that SGR's are indeed neutron stars. (Nature, 10 Mar.)