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ESA’s ‘rapid reaction force’   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.   (Please choose "hi-res" version for animation)
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. Release date: 25 February 2008 |