Latest Gamma-ray astronomy Stories

Scientists at the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) Space Science Division and a team of international researchers have positively identified cosmic sources of gamma-ray emissions through the discovery of 16 pulsating neutron stars. Using the Large Area Telescope (LAT), the primary instrument on NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope satellite, the discoveries were made by conducting blind frequency searches on the sparse photon data provided by the LAT. The photons had energies between 20...

The largest-ever gamma-ray telescope is set to collect its "first light" at an opening ceremony on Saturday.Located on the island of Palma, the Major Atmospheric Gamma-ray Imaging Cerenkov Magic II will replace its predecessor, the Magic telescope. When it was built, the first Magic telescope was the largest gamma-ray telescope in the world, until 2003, when the four-telescope High-energy Stereoscopic System (Hess) was unveiled.Now, Magic's successor will reclaim the title once more, but...

An international team of astronomers has used a U.S. radio telescope to study the brightest galaxies that the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope can see. Yuri Kovalev at the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy in Germany said the study solidifies the link between an active galaxy's gamma-ray emissions and its powerful radio-emitting jets. Kovalev and colleagues used the world's largest radio telescope -- the National Science Foundation's Very Long Baseline Array -- a set of 10 radio...

An international team of astrophysicists using telescopes on the ground and in space have uncovered surprising changes in radiation emitted by an active galaxy. The picture that emerges from these first-ever simultaneous observations with optical, X-ray and new-generation gamma-ray telescopes is much more complex than scientists expected and challenges current theories of how the radiation is generated.The galaxy in question is PKS 2155-304, a type of object known as a "blazar."...

WASHINGTON, Feb. 19 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The first gamma-ray burst to be seen in high-resolution from NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope is one for the record books. The blast had the greatest total energy, the fastest motions and the highest-energy initial emissions ever seen. (Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20081007/38461LOGO) "We were waiting for this one," said Peter Michelson, the principal investigator on Fermi's Large Area Telescope at Stanford University....

GREENBELT, Md., Feb. 2 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Astrophysicist Dr. Neil Gehrels of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., has been awarded the Henry Draper Medal by the National Academy of Sciences, Washington. (Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20081007/38461LOGO) The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) will honor 18 individuals in 2009 with awards recognizing extraordinary scientific achievements in the areas of biology, chemistry, geology, astronomy, social...

Thanks to ESA and UK technology transfer support, a British company has developed a device based on the gamma-ray detection equipment used in ESA's Integral astronomy satellite to detect and identify the radioactive material mixed with conventional explosives in "˜dirty bombs'.ESA has supported the development of technology for gamma-ray astronomy for more than 40 years. Integral, ESA's International Gamma-Ray Astrophysics Laboratory launched in 2002, is now detecting some of the most...

The U.S. space agency says its newest space telescope, the Gamma-ray Large Area Space Telescope, or GLAST, is in the process of being activated. The Delta II rocket carrying GLAST lifted off June 11 from launch pad 17-B at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. It is in orbit approximately 350 miles above the Earth and running well, officials said. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration said its engineers for the next month, will be busy turning on and checking the...

Today, NASA's Gamma-ray Large Area Space Telescope (GLAST for short) left Earth onboard a Delta II rocket. "The entire GLAST Team is elated," reported program manager Kevin Grady of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center shortly after the rocket's liftoff from Cape Canaveral. "The observatory is now on-orbit and all systems continue to operate as planned."What is NASA's newest space telescope going to accomplish? GLAST will explore the most extreme environments in the...

UK space scientist Emeritus Professor Alan Wells is to speak at the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in Boston in February on: International Cooperation in Developing Swift and its Scientific Achievements.Professor Wells' presentation will be on Saturday 16th February at around 11.00 a.m. as part of a symposium entitled: Worldwide Hunt to Solve the Mystery of Gamma-Ray Bursts. In it, he will discuss the breadth of international collaborations, including the prominent...