Discover
/
Article

The New Gamma‐Ray Astronomy

FEB 01, 1998
Nucleosynthesis sites, Galactic black holes, gamma‐ray bursters, blazars—all yield up secrets and surprises when observed with the latest gamma‐ray detectors.
Neil Gehrels
Jacques Paul

Our understanding of the gamma‐ray sky is being revolutionized. Seven years ago, gamma‐ray astronomers knew of only a scattering of very bright sources. Now, thanks to two international observatories, the gamma‐ray sky appears to be teeming with variety—unstable sources that change violently on short time scales, steady sources that glow radioactively and others whose nature we barely understand.

This article is only available in PDF format

References

  1. 1. Proceedings of the Fourth Compton Symposium, C. D. Dermer, M. S. Strickman, J. D. Kurfess, eds., AIP Proceedings vol. 410, AIP Press, Woodbury, N.Y. (1997).

  2. 2. E. M. Burbidge, G. R. Burbidge, W. A. Fowler, R. Hoyle, Rev. Mod. Phys. 29, 597 (1957).

  3. 3. I. F. Mirabel, L. F. Rodriguez, B. Cordier, J. Paul, F. Lebrun, Nature 358, 215 (1992).https://doi.org/NATUAS

  4. 4. S. N. Zhang, W. Cui, W. Chen, Astrophys. J. 482, L155 (1997).https://doi.org/ASJOAB

  5. 5. For results on gamma‐ray bursters from BATSE, see C. Kouveliotou, M. F. Briggs, G. F. Fishman, eds., in Gamma‐Ray Bursts: Third Huntsville Symp., AIP Conf. Proc. 384, AIP Press, Woodbury, N.Y. (1996),
    and in two “Search and Discovery” articles in PHYSICS TODAY: February 1992, p. 24,
    and April 1994, p. 17.

  6. 6. F. Hoyle, W. A. Fowler, in Quasi‐Stellar Sources and Gravitational Collapse, I. Robinson, A. Schild, E. L. Schucking, eds., U. Chicago P., Chicago (1965), p. 17.

  7. 7. E. E. Salpeter, Astrophys. J. 140, 796 (1964).https://doi.org/ASJOAB

  8. 8. D. Lynden‐Bell, Nature 223, 610 (1969).https://doi.org/NATUAS

  9. 9. M. J. Rees, Nature 229, 312 (1971).

  10. 10. C. Winkler, Astron. Astrophys. Supp. 120, 637 (1996).

More about the authors

Neil Gehrels, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland.

Jacques Paul, Saclay Nuclear Research Center, Gifsur‐Yvette, France.

Related content
/
Article
The ability to communicate a key message clearly and concisely to a nonspecialized audience is a critical skill to develop at all educational levels.
/
Article
With strong magnetic fields and intense lasers or pulsed electric currents, physicists can reconstruct the conditions inside astrophysical objects and create nuclear-fusion reactors.
/
Article
A crude device for quantification shows how diverse aspects of distantly related organisms reflect the interplay of the same underlying physical factors.
/
Article
Events held around the world have recognized the past, present, and future of quantum science and technology.
This Content Appeared In
pt-cover_1998_02.jpeg

Volume 51, Number 2

Get PT in your inbox

pt_newsletter_card_blue.png
PT The Week in Physics

A collection of PT's content from the previous week delivered every Monday.

pt_newsletter_card_darkblue.png
PT New Issue Alert

Be notified about the new issue with links to highlights and the full TOC.

pt_newsletter_card_pink.png
PT Webinars & White Papers

The latest webinars, white papers and other informational resources.

By signing up you agree to allow AIP to send you email newsletters. You further agree to our privacy policy and terms of service.