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NASA has selected the names of 21 new unofficial constellations. The discovery of new constellations was made using NASA's Fermi Gamma-Ray space telescope. Most of them bear the names of characters from modern myths such as Hulk, Godzilla and Doctor Who's TARDIS. The brand new set of constellations was created to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Femi telescope's operation.
"The development of these unofficial constellations was a fun way to highlight a decade of Fermi achievements," said Julie McEnery, Fermi Project Scientist at Goddard Space Flight Center. "In one way or another, all gamma ray constellations have a connection to Fermi science."
The Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT) examines the entire sky every three hours. Since July 2008, he has observed gamma ray sources, the light form of the highest energy of the universe. These sources have now received a name.
Gamma rays can come from black holes, neutron stars and other exotic cosmic objects from the universe, During this period of observation, Fermi has named many discoveries scientists on gamma rays and revolutionized our understanding of the phenomenon.
"In 2015, the number of different sources mapped by the Fermi LAT had Elizabeth Ferrara, who led the Constellation project. For the first time, the number of known gamma ray sources was comparable to the number of bright stars. we thought a new set of constellations was a great way to illustrate this point. "
Constellations are essentially shapes created by groups of stars. There are currently 88 official constellations and the ensemble of origin is recognized by the International Astronomical Union (IAU). Most of the original constellations are attributed to ancient Greek. The 21 new gamma-ray constellations are not only based on modern fictional characters, but also include famous landmarks such as the recovered Swedish warship, Vasa, the Washington Monument and Mount Fuji in Japan.
Fermi's more accurate vision is still detecting more gamma. further than any other mission and continues to build a clearer picture of the sky gamma rays.
"Fermi continues to be successful, and we are now preparing a new LAT catalog for all heavens," said Jean Ballet, member of the Fermi team at the French Atomic Energy Commissariat in Saclay . "That will add about 2,000 sources, whose luminosity varies a lot, enriching these constellations and animating the sky with high energy!"
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