"Our idea is that the gamma ray beam is much wider (than other forms of electromagnetic radiation) so we're able to see it," NASA's Alice Harding, with the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., told Discovery News. "If that's true it means we should be finding lots more of these." The first gamma ray pulses from the vicinity of CTA 1 were detected on July 11, a week to 10 days after astronomers began viewing the sky with Fermi. The discovery was later confirmed during follow-up observations. The pulses sweep toward Earth about three times per second. Scientists knew from a previous gamma ray telescope that the remnant held something unusual. "Nobody knew where it was coming from," Harding said. "We decided to look for pulsations, and we saw a particular time pattern in the arrival of the gamma rays. They were arriving in pulses." The team already is on the trail of other gamma ray pulsars. "We have discovered more," said Harding. Related Links: |
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