The European Space Agency (ESA) is Europe’s gateway to space. Its mission is to shape the development of Europe’s space capability and ensure that investment in space continues to deliver benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world.
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Exploring our Solar System and unlocking the secrets of the Universe
Go to topicProtecting life and infrastructure on Earth and in orbit
Go to topicUsing space to benefit citizens and meet future challenges on Earth
Go to topicMaking space accessible and developing the technologies for the future
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An Index of four of the Integral stories:
1) The Gamma Ray Burst
2) The Origin of Heavy Elements
3) A Short History of Gamma Ray Astronomy
4) Imaging the Gamma Ray Sky
These are complimented by an extended B-Roll. All carry split audio with English commentary.
A-ROLL
1. 00':00''
THE GAMMA RAY BURSTS
00:40
Gamma ray bursts pose one of the greatest mysteries of modern astronomy. About once per day, the sky above our heads lights up with a flash practically invisible to the naked eye but yet very spectacular: a burst of gamma rays. It is so spectacular because for in most instances, a gamma ray burst outshines all other sources of cosmic gamma rays added together. The source of the burst disappears altogether after a few seconds. No one can predict when the next burst will occur or from what direction in the sky it will come. At present, we don't even know what causes these flashes or how far away they are!
01:23
But one thing is for sure: gamma ray bursts are extremely far away and must be caused by tremendous explosions. Several hypothesis have been presented by scientists. These include the explosion of so-called hyper-novae - exceptionally violent supernovae, or the mergers of neutron stars or black holes.
01:42
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