This paper presents a comprehensive analysis of gamma-ray burst (GRB) afterglows to determine the conical opening angles of the jets responsible for these events. The authors find that the gamma-ray energy release, corrected for geometric effects, is concentrated around \(5 \times 10^{50}\) erg. They draw three main conclusions: (1) the central engines of GRBs release energies comparable to ordinary supernovae, suggesting a connection; (2) the wide variation in fluence and luminosity of GRBs is due to the distribution of opening angles; and (3) only a small fraction of GRBs are visible to any given observer, implying that the true GRB rate is at least 500 times larger than the observed rate. The study uses multi-wavelength observations to measure the jet opening angles and concludes that the true energy release of GRB central engines is approximately \(3 \times 10^{51}\) erg, with a standard deviation of about two. This finding supports the idea that GRBs are "standard candles" in some sense, but leaves several mysteries unresolved, including the mechanism for the wide variation in jet opening angles and the similarity of GRB energy release to that of supernovae.This paper presents a comprehensive analysis of gamma-ray burst (GRB) afterglows to determine the conical opening angles of the jets responsible for these events. The authors find that the gamma-ray energy release, corrected for geometric effects, is concentrated around \(5 \times 10^{50}\) erg. They draw three main conclusions: (1) the central engines of GRBs release energies comparable to ordinary supernovae, suggesting a connection; (2) the wide variation in fluence and luminosity of GRBs is due to the distribution of opening angles; and (3) only a small fraction of GRBs are visible to any given observer, implying that the true GRB rate is at least 500 times larger than the observed rate. The study uses multi-wavelength observations to measure the jet opening angles and concludes that the true energy release of GRB central engines is approximately \(3 \times 10^{51}\) erg, with a standard deviation of about two. This finding supports the idea that GRBs are "standard candles" in some sense, but leaves several mysteries unresolved, including the mechanism for the wide variation in jet opening angles and the similarity of GRB energy release to that of supernovae.