[rocket rumbling]
[dramatic music]
>> HEY, WELCOME TO "NASA LAUNCHPAD."
I'M YOUR HOST, AMBER WHALEN.
WHAT DO RADIOS, MICROWAVES, AND X-RAYS HAVE IN COMMON?
WELL, RADIOS PLAY MUSIC,
MICROWAVES ARE A FAST AND EASY WAY TO COOK FOOD,
AND X-RAYS ALLOW US TO SEE OUR INSIDES
FROM THE OUTSIDE.
SO HOW DO THESE THREE THINGS HAVE A COMMON LINK?
THEY'RE ALL PART OF A BROADER SPECTRUM,
THE ELECTROMAGNETIC SPECTRUM, TO BE EXACT.
THIS IS THE NAME THAT SCIENTISTS HAVE GIVEN
TO ALL THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF RADIATION
THAT TRAVEL IN WAVES.
SO WE CAN LISTEN TO OUR FAVORITE MUSIC FOR FREE
BECAUSE THE RADIO STATION EMITS RADIO WAVES.
BUT DID YOU KNOW THAT STARS, PLANETS,
AND EVEN GASES IN SPACE EMIT RADIO WAVES TOO?
[dramatic rock guitar music]
EVEN OUR OWN SUN CREATES RADIO WAVES.
TAKE A LOOK AT THIS.
THIS IS A SOLAR FLARE ON OUR SUN.
ON THE RIGHT, YOU SEE RADIO WAVES.
WHEN THE SUN FLARES, SO DO THE RADIO SIGNALS.
OKAY, SO, ENOUGH WITH RADIO WAVES.
THERE ARE EVEN MORE INTERESTING TYPES OF RADIATION OUT THERE.
LIKE I SAID, MANY DIFFERENT TYPES OF RADIATION CAN BE FOUND
ON THE ELECTROMAGNETIC SPECTRUM,
FROM THE RADIO WAVES WE TALKED ABOUT
TO MICROWAVE, INFRARED,
AND VISIBLE--
THAT'S THE PORTION OF THE SPECTRUM
THAT WE CAN SEE WITH OUR OWN EYES--
TO ULTRAVIOLET,
X-RAYS,
AND GAMMA RAYS.
THE HIGHER YOU GO ON THE SPECTRUM,
THE HIGHER THE ENERGY GETS.
SO RADIO WAVELENGTHS ARE VERY LONG,
WHEREAS GAMMA RAY WAVELENGTHS ARE VERY SHORT.
HERE'S OUR SUN AGAIN.
EACH COLOR YOU SEE REPRESENTS RADIATION
FROM DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE ELECTROMAGNETIC SPECTRUM.
BY LOOKING AT THE SUN IN DIFFERENT WAVELENGTHS,
WE ARE ABLE TO NOTICE DIFFERENT FEATURES.
[percussive rock music]
WHAT'S THE TERM "X-RAY" MEAN TO YOU?
BROKEN BONES AT THE HOSPITAL, RIGHT?
WELL, HIGH-ENERGY X-RAYS ARE VERY USEFUL
FOR MORE THAN LOOKING INTO OUR BODIES.
MANY DIFFERENT X-RAY TELESCOPES
HAVE ENABLED US TO EXPLORE THE UNIVERSE.
WE HAVE LEARNED ABOUT BLACK HOLES,
NEUTRON STARS, AND SUPERNOVAS, AMONG OTHER PHENOMENA.
SO YOU MIGHT WONDER,
WHY DO WE WANT TO SEE GAMMA RAYS?
WELL, SOME OF THE MOST INTERESTING OBJECTS
THROUGHOUT OUR UNIVERSE
EMIT A GOOD PORTION OF THEIR LIGHT AS GAMMA RAYS.
HOWEVER, IT'S NOT VISIBLE TO THE NAKED EYE.
SO TO LEARN MORE, ENGINEERS AND SCIENTISTS CREATED
THE GAMMA RAY LARGE AREA SPACE TELESCOPE, OR GLAST.
LAUNCHED IN JUNE OF 2008,
THE TELESCOPE WAS RENAMED FERMI,
AFTER PROFESSOR ENRICO FERMI,
A PIONEER IN HIGH-ENERGY PHYSICS.
[upbeat rock music]
FERMI NOW ORBITS EARTH
AND CREATES IMAGES OF OUR UNIVERSE.
OKAY, SO MAYBE I HAVEN'T BEEN CLEAR
ON HOW INCREDIBLY POWERFUL GAMMA RAYS ARE
AND WHAT MAKES THEM SO WORTHY OF STUDY.
A SINGLE GAMMA RAY BURST, LIKE FROM THE DEATH OF A STAR,
IS SO FORCEFUL THAT FOR A BRIEF MOMENT IN TIME,
IT ACTUALLY OUTSHINES THE ENTIRE UNIVERSE.
THAT'S PRETTY POWERFUL IF YOU ASK ME.
HOW ABOUT ANOTHER POWERFUL FORCE IN THE UNIVERSE?
A BLACK HOLE.
BUT GET THIS:
EVEN A BLACK HOLE, WHICH IS INFAMOUS
FOR PULLING IN MATTER, EVEN LIGHT,
ACTUALLY PUSHES AWAY MATTER IN JETS THAT MOVE
AT OVER 99% OF THE SPEED OF LIGHT.
GUESS WHAT'S INSIDE THESE JETS.
YOU GOT IT.
GAMMA RAYS, AND A WHOLE LOT OF THEM.
FERMI WILL HELP SCIENTISTS STUDY WHY THIS HAPPENS.
TAKE A LOOK AT THIS.
FERMI SENT THIS IMAGE BACK TO EARTH.
IT COMBINES 95 HOURS OF IMAGES OF THE SKY
AND GAMMA RAYS EMITTED.
IF YOU LOOK CLOSE,
YOU'LL SEE THAT'S OUR OWN MILKY WAY GALAXY
RIGHT IN THE CENTER.
THERE ARE IMMENSELY POWERFUL GAMMA RAYS
COMING FROM OUR OWN GALACTIC BACKYARD.
IT KIND OF MAKES YOU REALIZE HOW BIG THINGS REALLY ARE
AND HOW MUCH WE STILL NEED TO KNOW
ABOUT WHAT'S GOING ON OUT THERE.
WELL, UNTIL NEXT TIME, I'M AMBER WHALEN,
AND THANKS FOR WATCHING "NASA LAUNCHPAD."