Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope

Observations show shock waves likely key to nova’s brightness

15 April 2020 Astronomy Now

Observations indicate the visible brightness of a nova is driven by gamma ray emissions from shockwaves in the post-explosion environment.

Nearby pulsar a likely source of high-energy antimatter cosmic rays

31 December 2019 Astronomy Now

A decade of data from NASA’s Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope shows a nearby pulsar is the likely source of an excess of antimatter cosmic rays.

Colliding neutron stars likely formed low-mass black hole

1 June 2018 Astronomy Now

Colliding neutron stars generated headlines last year after the detection of gravitational waves sweeping through the solar system. Follow-on X-ray observations indicate the cataclysmic merger formed a record low-mass black hole.

NASA space observatories reveal surprising monster black hole connection

30 August 2016 Astronomy Now

Astronomers studying distant galaxies powered by monster black holes have uncovered an unexpected link between two very different wavelengths of the light they emit, the mid-infrared and gamma rays.

Possible link between primordial black holes and dark matter

24 May 2016 Astronomy Now

Dark matter is a mysterious substance composing most of the material universe, now widely thought to be some form of massive exotic particle. An intriguing alternative view is that dark matter is made of black holes formed during the first second of our universe’s existence, known as primordial black holes.

Gamma rays from distant blazar galaxy tell story of an epic escape

16 December 2015 Astronomy Now

In April 2015, after travelling for about half the age of the universe, a flood of powerful gamma rays from a distant galaxy slammed into Earth’s atmosphere. Observations of PKS 1441+25, a rare type of galaxy called a blazar, provide a look into the environment near a supermassive black hole at the galaxy’s centre and offer a glimpse into the state of the cosmos 7 billion years ago.