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Credit: NASA, Compton Gamma Ray Observatory
Explanation:
What if you could "see" gamma rays?
This computer processed image represents a map of the entire sky
at photon energies above 100 million electron Volts.
These gamma-ray photons are more than 40 million
times more energetic than visible light photons and are blocked
from the Earth's surface by the atmosphere. In the early 1990s NASA's
Compton Gamma Ray Observatory, in orbit around the Earth, scanned the
entire sky to produce this picture.
A diffuse gamma-ray glow from the plane of our Milky Way Galaxy is
clearly seen across the middle.
The nature and even distance to some of the fainter
sources remain unknown.
For more information see Compton Science Support Center release.
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: sky map - gamma ray
Publications with words: sky map - gamma ray
See also: