Premium
The pending GLAST mission
Author(s) -
Mattox J.R.
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
astronomische nachrichten
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.394
H-Index - 63
eISSN - 1521-3994
pISSN - 0004-6337
DOI - 10.1002/1521-3994(199908)320:4/5<279::aid-asna279>3.0.co;2-4
Subject(s) - physics , pulsar , astronomy , gamma ray , observatory , spitzer space telescope , astrophysics , telescope , active galactic nucleus , sky , supernova , gamma ray astronomy , particle acceleration , cherenkov telescope array , dark matter , fermi gamma ray space telescope , gamma ray burst , egret , high energy astronomy , galaxy , cosmic ray , cherenkov radiation , acceleration , detector , optics , classical mechanics
Abstract The Gamma‐ray Large Area Space Telescope (GLAST) is a high‐energy (20 MeV ‐ 300 GeV) gamma‐ray astronomy mission planned for launch in 2005. GLAST will be very useful for studies of particle acceleration in the Universe. Topics of interest include active galactic nuclei and their jets, extragalactic and Galactic diffuse emissions, dark matter, supernova remnants, pulsars, and the unidentified high‐energy gamma‐ray sources. The sensitivity is expected to be ∼2 × 10 —9 photons cm —2 s —1 (> 100 MeV) for a 2‐year all‐sky survey, which is a factor of more than 30 improvement in sensitivity over the EGRET Telescope onboard the Compton Observatory.