Categories: History

April 27, 1961: NASA Launches Explorer 11

On April 27, 1961, NASA launched Explorer 11, a satellite that contained the first gamma ray telescope to go to space. This marked the birth of space-based gamma ray astronomy. Gamma rays are a form of electromagnetic radiation and have the highest energy of any kind of wave in the electromagnetic spectrum. These waves come from things like supernova explosions, supermassive black holes, and even solar flares. Before Explorer 11 launched to look for gamma rays in space, scientists were pretty sure that gamma rays were out there. However, they had to way of detecting these gamma rays, because they get absorbed in Earth’s atmosphere. Explorer 11 detected 22 cosmic gamma rays during its seven-month mission. These rays were coming from all over the place and didn’t seem to point to any particular sources out in space. This observation became the first evidence of a uniform gamma-ray background in the universe.

admin

Share
Published by
admin

Recent Posts

Indian ISRO Venus Orbiter Mission Shukrayaan will Conduct Detailed Venus Analysis

ISRO as India's National Space Agency, which has been one of the most active space…

2 months ago

After the Moon the Next Step is Mars: Humanity is Expanding

Although many countries are currently struggling with economic problems, humanity is also pursuing projects that…

3 months ago

Is Teleportation Becoming a Reality?

Will We Be Able to Beam Ourselves to Other Locations? Those born between 1960 and…

3 months ago

The World’s First Civilian Space Walk and First Space Hotel

Space studies are progressing at a very high speed in the world. In my previous…

3 months ago

Ideal MTech Aerospace Engineering Program with 1 Year Internship to Solidify Experience

 Ideal MTech Aerospace Engineering Program with 1-Year Internship: A Comprehensive Pathway A Master of Technology…

4 months ago

Increasing Sun Activity with Sunspots and Solar Storms: 2025 is Expected to be Solar Maxima

Sun is the Essence of Life Our sun is the most important factor for life…

4 months ago