On 27 December 2004 the European Space Agency's Integral Gamma-Ray Observatory was hit by the strongest flux of gamma rays ever measured by any spacecraft. Read More
The Bad Astronomer writes "Five years ago today (December 27, 2004), a vast wave of high-energy gamma and X-rays washed over the Earth , blinding satellites and partially ionizing the Earth's atmosphere. The culprit was a superflare from the magnetar SGR 1806-20, located 50,000 light years away. The energy released was mind-numbing: in one-fifth of a second, this supercharged magnetic neutron star blasted out as much energy as the Sun does in 250,000 years!" Read More
A professional honor society of women educators is donating North Carolina flags to each fourth-grade class in Wayne County Public Schools. Read More
That large storms can produce gamma rays isn't news, but the surprise - and that's "Surprise" with a capital "Antimatter Annihilating Tiny Bits Of The Atmosphere In The Most Energetic Reaction Known To Science" - was that some of the Terrestrial Gamma Flashes (TGFs) were of the exact energy level which could only be produced by positron annihilation: anti-electrons appearing, meeting and electron, and exploding. Read More
Although more exploratory and ambitious than his eponymous first band, incendiary guitar genius Ronnie Montrose's second group, ... Read the full Gamma bio.