Did JWST solve a 20-year mystery about a gamma-ray burst's true home?

Astronomers used JWST to identify a new host galaxy for GRB 061201, a short burst observed in 2006 without a confirmed host. The new candidate sits at redshift z~1.2, roughly six times more distant than the previously claimed z=0.111 host. Three independent tests—energy-luminosity relations, absence of a supernova-like signal, and afterglow modeling—favor the distant galaxy. This higher redshift drastically reduces the implied neutron star merger rate, bringing it into agreement with gravitational wave observations.