Tag: Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory (FLWO)

  • Science & Tech

    Robotic telescope penetrates heart of universe’s most powerful explosion

    Cullen Blake, a graduate student at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics and lead author on the paper, said that the simultaneous observation of infrared light with a gamma-ray burst was unprecedented. This observation was made possible by PAIRITEL’s ability to aim at objects quickly and automatically. PAIRITEL pointed at the burst minutes after the Integral…

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  • Science & Tech

    Gamma-ray astronomers detect “extreme” galaxies

    Gamma rays from X-ray emitting galaxies seem to signal the existence of what astronomers are calling “extreme” galaxies. An international team of astrophysicists made the discovery of very-high-energy gamma rays, confirming the hypothesis of an Italian group that galaxies which emit strongly in the highest energy X-rays would also emit the most energetic gamma rays.…

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  • Science & Tech

    Astronomers resolve visible blast wave from gamma-ray burst

    Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are mysterious flashes of high-energy light that are detected about once a day somewhere in the sky. However, their origin remains unknown to astronomers, most of whom believe GRBs are enormous explosions that occur far across the Universe. Now for the first time, astronomers have resolved the visible blast wave produced by…

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