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Fermi Gamma-ray Telescope Trivia Questions

How much do you really know about Fermi Gamma-ray Telescope? Below are 8 true or false statements. Click each one to reveal the answer and explanation.

1.

Fermi helped create the most detailed map of the Milky Way in gamma-ray light.

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Easy
✓ TRUE

Fermi's all-sky survey produced the highest-resolution gamma-ray map of the Milky Way, revealing pulsars, supernova remnants, and diffuse emission.

2.

The Fermi telescope was launched in 2008 aboard a Space Shuttle.

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Easy
✗ FALSE

Fermi launched on June 11, 2008, but aboard a Delta II rocket from Cape Canaveral, not a Space Shuttle.

3.

Fermi can detect gamma rays from distant galaxies billions of light-years away.

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Easy
✓ TRUE

Fermi regularly observes gamma-ray bursts and active galactic nuclei from billions of light-years away, probing the early universe.

4.

Fermi was originally designed to hunt for dark matter particles annihilating in space.

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Medium
✓ TRUE

One of Fermi's key goals is to search for gamma-ray signals from dark matter annihilation, especially in dwarf galaxies and the galactic center.

5.

Fermi discovered the first gamma-ray burst from a supernova explosion.

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Medium
✗ FALSE

Fermi detects gamma-ray bursts, but these are typically from merging neutron stars or collapsing massive stars, not ordinary supernovae.

6.

Fermi's main instrument, LAT, can see gamma rays with energies up to 300 GeV.

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Hard
✗ FALSE

The LAT actually detects gamma rays from about 20 MeV to over 300 GeV, but its upper limit extends beyond 1 TeV for some events.

7.

Fermi orbits Earth in a low-inclination orbit to avoid the Van Allen belts.

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Hard
✓ TRUE

Fermi operates in a low-Earth orbit at about 565 km altitude with a 25.6-degree inclination, minimizing background radiation from the belts.

8.

The Fermi Gamma-ray Telescope can detect gamma rays from thunderstorms on Earth.

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Hard
✓ TRUE

Fermi has observed terrestrial gamma-ray flashes (TGFs) produced by lightning, making it a tool for atmospheric science as well as astronomy.

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