Social scientists: Far-flung physicists meet face-to-face
A tidal wave of gamma-ray scientists swept into Monterey, California, for the Fourth International Fermi Symposium, and despite the idyllic photo of a lovely local beach that graced the event poster,...
View ArticleStellar black widows entrap companion stars
Of the hundreds of objects in the universe emitting gamma rays, two look to be "black widows," ancient stars extending their lives by sucking in material from companion stars. Stanford physicist Roger...
View ArticleIlluminating the dark universe
The pursuit of dark matter and dark energy is one of the most exciting—and most challenging—areas of science. Now researchers think they’re beginning to close in.If you could use only 5 percent of the...
View ArticleCosmic rays born in supernova aftermath
One hundred years after the discovery of cosmic rays, a team of particle astrophysicists has definitively determined one source of these abundant yet enigmatic particles.For decades, researchers have...
View ArticleFermi’s first five years
In its first five years gazing at the gamma-ray sky, the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope provided new insights into cosmic puzzles ranging from dark matter to blazars—and added a few new puzzles to the...
View ArticleCosmic explosion calls theory into question
Observations of a rare cosmic explosion challenge scientists’ theoretical understanding of how gamma-ray bursts work.On April 27, a blast of light from a dying star in a distant galaxy washed over...
View ArticleAstrophysicists use lens to study black-hole jet
Using an entire galaxy as a lens to look at an object in the far distance, researchers are learning more about powerful jets emitted when matter falls into a black hole.Using an astronomer’s trick,...
View ArticleScientists pinpoint ‘very peculiar’ pulsar
Scientists studying five years of data from the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope have found the first gamma-ray variable pulsar. But is it really what it seems?Astrophysicists studying the gamma-ray sky...
View ArticleVirtual field trips take students into the labs
Teachers are using Google+ to bring their classes behind the scenes at national laboratories and to teach students about careers in STEM.Cormac, a high school student from Journeys School in Jackson...
View Article‘Black widow’ pulsars consume their mates
With a deadly embrace, ‘spidery’ pulsars devour their partners. One such pulsar is the first rapidly spinning black widow to be discovered using only gamma rays.Black widow spiders and their Australian...
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