Endless Facts, One Snippet at a Time
Gamma-Ray Astronomy: Exploring the Most Energetic Events
- Gamma-ray astronomy studies the universe’s highest-energy form of light.
- Gamma rays come from extreme events like supernovae, pulsars, black holes, and gamma-ray bursts.
- Earth’s atmosphere blocks gamma rays, so telescopes must fly on satellites or balloons.
- The first cosmic gamma rays were detected in the 1960s by early satellites.
- NASA’s Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope maps the sky in gamma rays today.
- Gamma-ray bursts are the most powerful explosions since the Big Bang.
- These observations help trace cosmic particle accelerators like blazars and magnetars.
- Cherenkov telescopes on Earth detect gamma rays indirectly through atmospheric flashes.
- Gamma rays probe dark matter theories by searching for annihilation signals.
- By capturing the universe’s most violent light, gamma-ray astronomy reveals its most extreme secrets.