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ESA’s ‘rapid reaction force’

28 January 2004

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Integral provides us with new insights into the most violent and exotic objects of the Universe, such as black holes, neutron stars, active galactic nuclei and supernovae. Integral is also helping us to understand processes such as the formation of new chemical elements and the mysterious gamma-ray bursts, the most energetic phenomena in the Universe.

Credits: ESA 2002/Medialab

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Credits: ESA

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XMM-Newton's X-ray EPIC camera shows the expanding rings caused by a flash of X-rays scattered by dust in our Galaxy. The X-rays were produced by a powerful gamma-ray burst that took place on 3 December 2003. The slowly fading afterglow of the gamma-ray burst is at the centre of the expanding rings. Other, unrelated, X-ray sources can also be seen. The time since the gamma-ray explosion is shown in each panel in seconds. At their largest size, the rings would appear in the sky about five times smaller than the full moon.

Credits: ESA, S. Vaughan (University of Leicester)

ESA's gamma-ray astronomy mission

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Integral factsheet

Observations: Seeing in the gamma-ray wavelengths Observations: Seeing in X-ray wavelengths Observations: Seeing in microwave wavelengths Three satellites needed to bring out ‘shy star’A gamma-ray burst bonanza Integral's first look at the gamma-ray Universe Integral rolls back history of Milky Way's super-massive black hole ESA's Integral solves thirty-year old gamma-ray mystery