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| | | | | | | Integral overview
| | | | | | | | | Integral, a scientific project in ESA's Horizon 2000 programme, stands for International Gamma Ray Astrophysics Laboratory. It will be carried out in cooperation with NASA and the Russian Space Research Institute (IKI) with a launch being planned for October 2002. The Integral mission should last 2 years but could be extended to 5 years.
From mid-April to early May 2002, ESA's gamma-ray detecting spacecraft, Integral, undergoes a series of tests at the Large Space Simulator (LSS), a giant thermal-vacuum chamber located at the European Space Research and Technology Centre in Noordwijk, the Netherlands.
Credits: ESA-A.Van Der Geest | |  |  | |
| | | | | Integral launched at 06:41 CEST 17 October 2002 from Baikonur in Kazakhstan.
Credits: ESA - S.Corvaja | | | | |
| | | | | Integral will provide new insights into the most violent and exotic objects of the Universe, such as black holes, neutron stars, active galactic nuclei and supernovae. Integral also will help 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.
Integral will be launched by a Proton rocket, Russia's largest operational launch vehicle. A powerful launcher is absolutely essential to put the heavy spacecraft into an unusually high Earth orbit which is crucial for the scientific success of the mission.
Credits: ESA 2002-D.Ducros | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | One of the most important 'quantities' an astronomer can know about a celestial object is the amount of energy it emits at different wavelengths. Wavelengths are like colours and, just as the different wavelengths of optical light are distinguished as colours by our eyes and brains, Integral will use the Spectrometer on Integral (SPI) to split the gamma rays it captures into gamma-ray 'colours'. Here, SPI has captured gamma rays from the black hole, Cygnus X-1 and from the neutron star system, Cygnus X-3 in an observation that took place during 21-22 November 2002. The gamma rays do not come from the black hole but are emitted by a swirling disc of ultra-hot gas that surrounds the black hole. This is created as the black hole's gravitational field pulls matter from its companion star, HDE 226868. SPI's unique capabilities will investigate whether a cloud of antimatter envelops Cygnus X-1, as some astronomers believe.
Cygnus X-1 is about 10 000 light years from Earth and one of the brightest high-energy emitters in the sky. It was discovered in the 1960s and is thought to be a black hole, ripping its companion star to pieces. The companion star, HDE 226868, is a blue supergiant with a surface temperature of around 31 000K. It orbits the black hole once every 5.6 days.
Credits: ESA. Original image by the Integral SPI team . Image processing by ESA/ECF. | | | | |
| | | | Mission
| The task of Integral, ESA's International Gamma-Ray Astrophysics Laboratory, is to gather the most energetic radiation that comes from space. The spacecraft was launched October 2002 and will help to solve some of the biggest mysteries in astronomy.
Gamma rays are even more powerful than the X-rays used in medical examinations. Fortunately, the Earth's atmosphere acts as a shield to protect us from this dangerous cosmic radiation. However this means that gamma rays from space can only be detected by satellites. Integral is currently the most sensitive gamma-ray observatory ever launched. It detects radiation from the most violent events far away and from processes that made the Universe habitable.
Credits: ESA. Illustration by D. Ducros | | | | |
| | | | Last update: 13 April 2007 | |
| | ESA's gamma-ray astronomy mission More about... Integral factsheetRelated articles Observations: Seeing in the gamma-ray wavelengthsObservations: Seeing in X-ray wavelengthsObservations: Seeing in microwave wavelengthsThree satellites needed to bring out ‘shy star’A gamma-ray burst bonanzaIntegral's first look at the gamma-ray UniverseIntegral rolls back history of Milky Way's super-massive black holeESA's Integral solves thirty-year old gamma-ray mysteryRelated links Related NASA release
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