Say Hello to the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope
Two months ago, NASA launched what was then known as the GLAST (Gamma-ray Large Area Space Telescope), and today, the space agency announced both the new name as well as the successful passing of initial testing for the new telescope. The GLAST is now named for physics pioneer, Enrico Fermi.
From the GLAST mission website:
GLAST is a powerful space observatory that will open a wide window on the universe. Gamma rays are the highest-energy form of light, and the gamma-ray sky is spectacularly different from the one we perceive with our own eyes. With a huge leap in all key capabilities, GLAST data will enable scientists to answer persistent questions across a broad range of topics, including supermassive black-hole systems, pulsars, the origin of cosmic rays, and searches for signals of new physics.
Here is one of the first images being produced by the FGST. This is the result of 95 hours of imaging.
Neat.
The Fermi takes over for the now-defunct Compton Gamma-ray Observatory, which was in operation from 1991 to June 2000. The Fermi has two major components, the Large Area Telescope (LAT) and the GLAST Burst Monitor (GBM). The Fermi will scan the entire sky each day in about three hours. This “survey mode” will be the primary function of the FGST, but as the telescope is sensitive to some really high levels of gamma-rays, it should be interesting as to what new discoveries will come out of this mission. The telescope will be observing photons that are in the 20 Million electron Volts (MeV) to those over 300 Billion electron Volts (GeV). The high end of that range is still relatively unexplored.
The LAT covers the higher energies, but the GBM looks for those lower ranges, which means that when the two instruments work together, scientists will get a more complete picture of the mysteries of gamma-ray bursts around the Universe, you know, the bursts that signify the death of a star or when two neutron stars unite into one. Or at least that is what scientists think cause gamma-ray bursts, so the Fermi will be able to shed some light on what indeed causes these violent explosions so far away.
NASA, gamma-ray telescope, GLAST, Large Area Telescope, gamma-ray bursts, Enrico Fermi, Compton Gamma-ray Observatory, stars, astronomy
February 10th, 2009 at 10:53 pm
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