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- [Source: FERMI Project, http://fermi.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ]
The Universe is home to numerous exotic and beautiful phenomena, some of which can generate almost inconceivable amounts of energy. Supermassive black holes, merging neutron stars, streams of hot gas moving close to the speed of light ... these are but a few of the marvels that generate gamma-ray radiation, the most energetic form of radiation, billions of times more energetic than the type of light visible to our eyes. What is happening to produce this much energy? What happens to the surrounding environment near these phenomena? How will studying these energetic objects add to our understanding of the very nature of the Universe and how it behaves?
The Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope, formerly GLAST, will open this high-energy world to exploration and help us to answer these questions. With Fermi, astronomers will at long last have a superior tool to study how black holes, notorious for pulling matter in, can accelerate jets of gas outward at fantastic speeds. Physicists will be able to study subatomic particles at energies far greater than those seen in ground-based particle accelerators. And cosmologists will gain valuable information about the birth and early evolution of the Universe. For this unique endeavor, one that brings together the astrophysics and particle physics communities, NASA is teaming up with the U.S. Department of Energy and institutions in France, Germany, Japan, Italy and Sweden. General Dynamics was chosen to build the spacecraft. Fermi was launched June 11, 2008 at 12:05 pm EDT. Mission Objectives - Explore the most extreme environments in the Universe, where nature harnesses energies far beyond anything possible on Earth. - Search for signs of new laws of physics and what composes the mysterious Dark Matter. - Explain how black holes accelerate immense jets of material to nearly light speed. - Help crack the mysteries of the stupendously powerful explosions known as gamma-ray bursts. - Answer long-standing questions across a broad range of topics, including solar flares, pulsars and the origin of cosmic rays. Group: Platform_Details Entry_ID: FERMI Group: Platform_Identification Platform_Category: Solar/Space Observation Satellites Short_Name: FERMI Long_Name: Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope End_Group Group: Synonymous_Platform_Names Short_Name: GLAST End_Group Group: Platform_Associated_Instruments Short_Name: LAT End_Group Creation_Date: 2009-09-14 Online_Resource: http://fermi.gsfc.nasa.gov/ Online_Resource: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/GLAST/main/index.html Online_Resource: http://nasascience.nasa.gov/missions/glast Sample_Image: http://nasascience.nasa.gov/missions/glast/graphic Group: Platform_Logistics Launch_Date: 2008-06-11 Primary_Sponsor: USA/NASA End_Group End_Group
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