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Gamma-ray Astronomy and GLASTThe high energy gamma-ray (30 MeV to 100 GeV) sky has been relatively poorly studied. Most of our current knowledge comes from observations made by the Energetic Gamma Ray Experiment Telescope (EGRET) detector on the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory (CGRO), which revealed that the GeV gamma-ray sky is rich and vibrant. Studies of astrophysical objects at GeV energies are interesting for several reasons: The high energy gamma-rays are often produced by a different physical process than the better studied X-ray and optical emission, thus providing a unique information for understanding these sources. Production of such high-energy photons requires that charged particles are accelerated to equally high energies, or much greater. Thus gamma-ray astronomy is the study of extreme environments, with natural and fundamental connections to cosmic-ray and neutrino astrophysics. The launch of GLAST in 2008 will herald a watershed in our understanding of the high energy gamma-ray sky, providing dramatic improvements in sensitivity, angular resolution and energy range. GLAST will open a new avenue to study our Universe as well as to answer scientific questions EGRET observations have raised. In this talk, I will describe the GLAST instruments and capabilities and highlight some of the science we expect to address.
Document ID
20080032410
Acquisition Source
Goddard Space Flight Center
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
McEnery, Julie
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Date Acquired
August 24, 2013
Publication Date
November 20, 2007
Subject Category
Astronomy
Meeting Information
Meeting: Colloquium at the University of Wisconsin
Location: Madison, WI
Country: United States
Start Date: November 20, 2007
End Date: November 23, 2007
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Work of the US Gov. Public Use Permitted.

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