Unveiling the 21 New Gamma Ray Constellations Named by NASA
NASA has recently added 21 new gamma ray constellations to its cosmic map, all uniquely named after fictional characters and iconic landmarks such as Doctor Who, Hulk, Colosseum, Schrödinger’s cat, Eiffel Tower, and Godzilla. These newly christened constellations, visible through the Fermi-Gamma Ray Space Telescope, represent a significant milestone, marking ten years since the telescope’s first operational launch.
About the Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope
The Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope, previously known as the Gamma-ray Large Area Space Telescope (GLAST), is an orbital observatory that conducts gamma-ray astronomy investigations from low Earth orbit. Launched on June 11, 2008, the telescope is a tribute to the pioneering contributions of Enrico Fermi, an Italian-American scientist who made significant strides in high-energy physics.
Fermi maps the entire sky every three hours, offering invaluable insights into the universe’s most extreme phenomena like gamma-ray bursts, black-hole jets, and pulsars. It represents groundbreaking collaboration in astrophysics and particle physics, developed with extensive contributions from the U.S. Department of Energy, several academic institutions, and international partners from France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Sweden, and the United States.
Fundamentals of Gamma Rays
Gamma rays are the universe’s highest-energy light, demonstrating over a billion times the energy intensity of the kind of light visible to humans. Generated by the universe’s hottest and most energetic objects including neutron stars, pulsars, supernova explosions, and black hole regions, gamma rays are also produced on Earth through nuclear blasts, lightning, and radioactive decay.
| Fact | Description |
|---|---|
| Gamma Rays | The highest-energy light in the universe, produced by extremely hot and energetic cosmic entities. |
| Origin on Earth | Created through nuclear explosions, lightning and radioactive decay. |
| Potential Harm | They are highly energetic and harmful to life on Earth. |
| Measurement | Measured in energies above 100 keV (Kilo Electron Volt). |
Observation and Impact of Gamma Rays
Astronomical observations of gamma rays, also known as gamma-ray astronomy, focuses on the detection of photons with energies exceeding 100 kilo electron volts (keV). The immense energy of gamma rays poses significant threats to life on Earth. Fortunately, Earth’s atmosphere absorbs these rays, effectively shielding life on the ground.
While these high-energy rays can easily bypass any lens or mirror, making focusing them in a conventional telescope a challenge, they are observable through high-altitude balloons or satellites stationed above Earth’s atmospheric cover. These space-based observatories, including Fermi, provide an essential window to understand the most potent energy phenomena of our universe better.
Note: Pulsars are types of neutron stars that emit radio pulses at regular intervals. Neutron Star is the remnants of massive stars. An electron volt represents a unit of energy close to that of visible light.
