Excitement Builds as GLAST Readies Its Gamma-ray Vision

From PhysOrg.com - latest science and technology news:

Scientists around the world are excited about all the things that the Gamma-ray Large Area Space Telescope, or GLAST, is going to uncover after it launches on June 5 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. There are many reasons for worldwide excitement about GLAST. Not only is the equipment state-of-the-art, but it will allow us to see objects in space differently. "The Universe looks remarkably different outside the narrow range of colors in the spectrum that we can see with our eyes," said David Thompson, GLAST Deputy Project Scientist at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. "GLAST will give us a spectacular high-energy 'gamma-ray vision,'" said Thompson. Gamma rays are the highest-energy form of light in the electromagnetic spectrum and cannot be seen by the naked eye. Thompson noted "If you're in space with gamma-ray vision, there are gamma-rays coming from all directions. The Milky Way would be a brilliant swath of light, and you'd see a sky constantly changing with objects dimming and brightening on different time scales. If you see a blinding flash, that would be a gamma-ray burst!"

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