NOVA Online | Death Star

20 curious facts about gamma-ray bursts

The Gamma Ray Astronomy Team Home Page
http://www.batse.msfc.nasa.gov/
The Gamma Ray Astronomy Team at the National Space Science and Technology Center studies gamma-ray phenomena such as pulsars, black holes, other galaxies, and gamma-ray bursts. Find out more about their research at this site.

Compton Gamma Ray Observatory (CGRO)
http://cossc.gsfc.nasa.gov/
Deorbited in June 2000, the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory, the second in NASA's program of orbiting observatories (after the Hubble Space Telescope), carried four instruments which together can detect gamma rays. At the CGRO Web site, learn more about how the observatory worked and see data and images from its missions.

NASA Space Link
http://spacelink.msfc.nasa.gov/
With Space Link, NASA attempts to bring together all of the rich resources—images, data, and educational tools—that NASA missions and research projects have generated over the years.

National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO)
http://www.nrao.edu/
As seen in the program "Death Star," the Very Large Array is, indeed, a very large array of radio telescopes in New Mexico, which generate important information about astronomical objects. Learn more about the VLA and other research tools housed at the NRAO.

Multiwavelength Astronomy
http://www.ipac.caltech.edu/Outreach/Multiwave/
Astronomers rely on analyzing light generated by distant objects in outer space. What data can they gather by studying light? How do they measure light? Find out more about light and the electromagnetic spectrum at this site.

Space.com
http://www.space.com/
This site offers space news, updated daily, and a wide selection of photos, games, and special in-depth reports on topics related to space. It also features a chat room where astronomers and amateur space enthusiasts can meet.

The Space Images Archive
http://www.seds.org/images/
NASA's image database is exhaustive, but this independently maintained archive offers a good selection of images that you may not find at NASA. Those who are looking for historical space images will find this site particularly useful.

Companion to the Cosmos by John Gribbin. New York: Little, Brown, 1996.
The essential full-length dictionary of astrophysical terms, from "Anglo-Australian Telescope" to "ZZ Ceti Stars."

Cosmic Horizons: Astronomy at the Cutting Edge by Steven Soter and Neil deGrasse Tyson, eds. New York: New Press, 2001.
A selection of essays written by leading astronomers and astrophysicists, this brightly illustrated volume explains the most significant recent discoveries in the field of astrophysics. Brief biographies of major astronomers and physicists are also included.

The Scientific American Book of the Cosmos by David H. Levy, ed. New York: St. Martin's, 2000.
Largely compiled from Scientific American articles, this book has pieces penned by scientists ranging from Albert Einstein to Stephen Jay Gould. Chapters deal with issues such as the formation of our galaxy and musings on the end of the universe, and all include introductions to the topic by editor David H. Levy.

The Scientific American Book of Astronomy by The Editors of Scientific American. New York: Lyons, 1999.
Similar to the The Scientific American Book of the Cosmos, this collection of essays has a supplemental section of high-quality images.

The Whole Shebang: A State of the Universe(s) Report by Timothy Ferris. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1997.
Professor emeritus of journalism at the University of California, Berkeley, Timothy Ferris chronicles the shift in attitude towards cosmology and speculates on a future in which other universes are known and studied.

Duncan Copp, associate producer, "Death Star," for DOX Productions
Dr. Robert Donahue, WGBH Educational Foundation
Sarah Holt, producer, "Death Star," for NOVA
Susan K. Lewis, producer, "Death Star," for NOVA
Dr. James Lochner, U.S.R.A. and NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center
Dr. Bohdan Paczynski, Princeton University
David Sington, producer, "Death Star," for DOX Productions

Lauren Aguirre, Executive Editor
Katie Caldwell, Associate Designer
Rick Groleau, Managing Editor
Brenden Kootsey, Senior Web Developer
Lexi Krock, Editorial Assistant
Peter Tyson, Editor in Chief
Anya Vinokour, Senior Designer

Death Star Home—Photo: NASA

One Astronomer's Universe—Photos: (1) Courtesy of Dr. Groot; (2,4,6-8) NASA, (3) Dox Productions; (9) Corbis Images; (10) Dox Productions; (11) HST GRB Collaboration, STIS, HST, NASA

A Bad Day in the Milky Way—Photos: (1-2, 5) Dox Productions; (3) BeppoSax Team; (4,6) NASA; (6) Laura Whitlock, GSFC, NASA (6) Y. Chu (UIUC) et al., POSS, ROSAT, MDM, HST; (7) David Friedlander

Catalogue of the Cosmos—Photos: (Milky Way) NASA; (Orion Nebula) NASA and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI); (Nebula) S.R. Kulkarni and S.G. Djorgovski (CalTech), the CalTech GRB Team, and NASA; (Magellanic Clouds) Hubble Heritage Team (AURA/STScI/NASA); (Galaxy) NASA and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA), G.R. Meurer and T.M. Heckman (JHU), C. Leitherer, J. Harris and D. Calzetti (STScI, and M. Sirianni (JHU); (Binary Stars) Susan Terebey (Extrasolar Research Corp.), and NASA; (Elliptical Galaxy) NASA; (Globular Cluster) NASA; (Spiral Galaxy) NASA and the Heritage Team (STScI/Aura); (Asteroid) NASA; (Quasar) John Bahcall (Institute of Advanced Study, Princeton) and NASA; (Comet) H.A. Weaver (Applied Research Corp.), P.D. Feldman (The Johns Hopkins University), and NASA; (Planetary Nebula) J.P. Harrington and K.J. Borkowski (University of Maryland), and NASA; (Blue Straggler) Rex Saffer (Villanova University) and Dave Zurek (STScI), and NASA; (White Dwarf/Left) Kitt Peak National Observatory 0.9 M telescope, National Optical Astronomy Observatories; courtesy of M. Bolte (University of California, Santa Cruz); (White Dwarf/Right) Harvey Richer (University of British Columbia, Vancouver) and NASA; (Supernova) Chung Shing Jason Pun (NASA/GCFC), Robert P. Kirshner (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics), and NASA; (Black Hole) Karl Gebhardt (University of Michigan) and Tod Lauer (NOAO); (Neutron Star) Fred Walter (State University of New York at Stony Brook), and NASA

Tour The Spectrum—Photos: (microwave) Nobeyama Radio Observatory; (infrared) IPAC/CalTech; (light) NASA; (ultraviolet) SOHO (ESA & NASA); (x-ray) NASA/CXC/SAO/Rutgers/J.Hughes; (gamma) GSFC/NASA

Compiled by Lexi Krock

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