NASA names new gamma-ray constellations after Godzilla and Hulk

Fermi has mapped approximately 3,000 sources of gamma radiation. (Image: NASA)

NASA used some modern myth characters such as "Hulk" and "Godzilla" to name its new set of 21 gamma-ray constellations built to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the exploitation of its Fermi Gamma space telescope. Fermi mapped approximately 3,000 sources of gamma radiation, 10 times the number known before launch, and a number comparable to the bright stars of traditional constellations.

"For the first time, the number of known gamma ray sources was comparable to the number of bright stars. So we thought that a new set of constellations was a great way to illustrate this point, "said Elizabeth Ferrara, of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. led the constellation project said in a statement. "Developing these unofficial constellations was a fun way to celebrate a decade of Fermi accomplishments," said Julie McEnery, scientist of the Fermi project at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center.

Comic fans who know the story of Hulk, Bruce Banner's big and edgy alter ego whose gamma-ray experiments have gone terribly wrong, could easily appreciate NASA's choice by naming one of its constellations. Gamma rays are the most powerful form of light. They pack enough punch to turn into material in the right circumstances, a transformation that Banner and Hulk would certainly appreciate. The choice of the Godzilla constellation by NASA is linked to its "heat ray" brand weapon, a hot jet. It looks at least like the gamma rays associated with black holes and neutron stars.

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Godzilla is one of the most famous movie monsters and one of the most recognizable symbols of Japanese popular culture. In the original 1954 film, nuclear weapons tests disrupted the deep ocean habitat of the creature, which emerged from the sea and wreaked havoc in Japan. The 21 gamma-ray constellations also include famous sites – such as the recovered Swedish warship, Vasa, the Washington Monument and Mount Fuji in Japan – in countries contributing to the Fermi science.

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Since 2008, Fermi's Large Area Telescope (LAT) has scanned the entire sky every day, mapping and measuring the gamma-ray sources, the light at the highest energy level in the universe. The emission can come from pulsars, nova explosions, supernova explosions debris and giant gamma-ray bubbles located in our own galaxy, supermassive black holes and gamma-ray bursts. the most powerful explosions of the cosmos – in others.

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"Fermi continues to work well and we are now preparing a new LAT all sky catalog," said Jean Ballet, a member of the Fermi team of the French Atomic Energy Commission in Saclay. "That will add about 2,000 sources, whose brightness varies a lot, enriching these constellations and animating the sky with high energy!"

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