"Gamma-Ray Bursts: Twinkle brightly,gamma-star for still we know not what you are"

In the thirty years since the discovery of gamma-ray bursts,they have slowly gained the reputation of being one of the most embarrassing unsolved mysteries in astronomy. Recently,the discoveries made with BATSE and other instruments on board NASA's Compton GAMMAY-Ray Observatory,have accelerated research in the field. But sofar,these have served more to show that the old consensus was wrong : gamma-ray bursts do no predominantly oroginate on old neutron stars near to the Sun. But whether they are in the outskirts of our own Galaxy, or as far away as the edge of the observable universe is yet a matter of debate. I shall review the observed properties of gamma-ray bursts, and show how much is known from the present data. Some general statments can be made about the relevant physical processes and underlying sources,and they will be discussed, but it is quite clear that new ideas are needed. Some prospects for future experiments that may shed more light on the nature of this phenomenon will also be discussed.