News 2009

Dec 08, 2009
Microquaser gamma emission observed for the first time

For the first time, the high-energy gamma rays emitted by a microquasar have been spotted with certainty, thanks to NASA's Fermi telescope. The observation of the microquasar Cygnus X-3 by a French team (CEA-IRFU, CNRS-INSU and IN2P3, University of Paris Diderot, Joseph Fourier University) teaches us more about how these particular sources function and how a compact object orbiting a star can hurl a mass equivalent to the Moon's through the interstellar medium at almost the speed of light. The study is published in Science Express on 26 November 2009.

 

- for more information : see the French version

Feb 18, 2009
The FERMI observatory has discovered the most energetic gamma-ray burst ever detected

The Fermi gamma-ray space telescope  [1] has detected the most violent gamma-ray burst ever recorded; a gigantic explosion marking the death of a massive star. Light from this explosion, captured by the Fermi observatory on September 16th 2008, had taken 12.2 billion years to reach Earth. Hence, it must have been produced at a time when the Universe was just 1.5 billion years old.  The total amount of energy released makes this the most violent explosion observed in the Universe since the Big Bang. Observed by the Fermi on scales covering more than six decades in energy, this gamma-ray burst demonstrated exceptional properties. Clouds of charged particles were catapulted out during the explosion, at a speed equal to 99.9% of the speed of light! This work, the result of the international Fermi collaboration, with partners from CEA-Irfu, was published on February 19th 2009 in the journal Science express.

Dec 19, 2009
Herschel discovers hundreds of proto-stars in a dark cloud

The first scientific images of the Herschel Space telescope  have just been released during a scientific conference held at Madrid (Spain) on 17 and 18 decembre 2009, only six months after launch. One the most spectacular pictures is the image of a dark cloud in the Aquila constellation revealing for the first time more than 700 condensations of dust and gas that will eventually become stars

This image is part of a major Herschel scientific program "The Gould belt survey" led by Philippe André at the Astrophysical department  of the CEA-IRFU.

For a full information : see the french version

 

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