Fermi's Spectacular Second Year

Happy Launch Anniversary to Fermi!!
Only two short years ago we watched Fermi take a perfect ride into orbit.

It turns out that the only thing better than Fermi’s fantastic first year is its spectacular second year. The data from both instruments are now being analyzed by scientists around the world. The Large Area Telescope team released a first catalog, which was based on 11 months of observations and contains 1451 gamma-ray sources (this is 5x larger than previous catalogs at similar energies).  One of the great things about Fermi is that even though we have beenobserving for almost 2 years that is not the end of the story. Thegamma-ray sky changes every day. Because Fermi sees so much much of the sky for so much of the time, we not only see things we expect to be interesting, but also get to watch the unscripted reality show that is the gamma-ray universe. Here are some of the highlights from the past year.

  • the active galaxy 3C 454.3 briefly became the brightest persistent object ever seen in the gamma-ray sky in December — link
  • the microquasar Cygnus X-3 (a compact object and massive star binary system) flared and was definitively detected in gamma rays for the first time — link
  • the gamma-ray bursts burst (and gave us some insight into properties of space-time) — link

As Fermi continues to watch the sky, we will continue to catch gamma-rays sources doing amazing things. It has been a wonderful two years, and I am looking forward to the next one.

7 thoughts on “Fermi's Spectacular Second Year”

  1. Gamma Rays change I suppose for the laws of astrophysical espectrum, days never exist on travelling, nights… It is produced a variation or modification in our perpection of the matter, psychollogically that affects physiological and physical.

    The use of glasses… lens… all responds to a property of tension and stress, the accumulation resumes all.

    Creativity games with methodically or not eyes exercise, relax the ocular muscle; that functions, anyway!

    Remembering that when you see across the lens of a telescope, radiations of gamma rays are travelling too inside-outside the scope.

    Then is particularly similar to our eyes online and the main factor, to fly, navigate… to contact = Life!

  2. The best remedy to do exercise outdoors, with the contact of the sun not extremely on to the eyes, breathing nose ascending air (the nose) upwards with the centre in the third eye and do exercise of focusing encompassed by the rythm of the cardiovascular work of moving with pulsion the eyes, entirely emphatically, but taking care. Technique is better than tactics!

    Beginning short and small little by little… in progression.

    You can ameliorate your ocular capacity without needing other prescriptions.

    It is only an exposée!

  3. I would like to comment the preponderancy of astronomy over astrophysics.

    Astrophysics is based in the use of optical radiations emissions.

    I like physics, but not astrophysics.

  4. Binoculars or lens radiation as the same, but periodically Fermi gives spontaneous turns imitating the stars to simulate one.

    Then luminosity temperature of the rays of gamma emissions participate of us, the conclusive and alusive story of moments of stellar dimensions or calculations inviting to decorate plasma fantastically, the desert part of the magnetic field; the occassion to disipate…

  5. Has anyone ever considered that dark matter might just be space itself? Dark matter might be affected and contorted by the heat and gravity and influence of galaxies and stars.

  6. I am glad NASA re-named the satellite in honor of Fermi. I enjoyed the video on Einstein and the cosmic speed limit. But it seemed to lead up to a conclusion contrary to its quick final comment… The setup seemed to be that the Fermi observation had perhaps given some support to quantum foam type theories and then abruptly this was summarily dismissed. the analogy the NASA scientist used seemed to contradict the summation. Perhaps she could devote a blog entry to this aspect of the video and elaborate on why 900 milliseconds is far too small an interval to aid quantum foaminess. Or better yet splice 30 seconds more on this into the excellent video itself. Thanks and happy hunting !

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