This compilation summarizes the wide range of science from the first five years of NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope. Fermi is a NASA observatory designed to reveal the high-energy universe in never-before-seen detail. Launched in 2008, Fermi continues to give astronomers a unique tool for exploring high-energy processes associated with solar flares, spinning neutron stars, outbursts from black holes, exploding stars, supernova remnants and energetic particles to gain insight into how the universe works. Fermi detects gamma rays, the most powerful form of light, with energies thousands to billions of times greater than the visible spectrum. The mission has discovered pulsars, proved that supernova remnants can accelerate particles to near the speed of light, monitored eruptions of black holes in distant galaxies, and found giant bubbles linked to the central black hole in our own galaxy. From blazars to thunderstorms, from dark matter to supernova remnants, catch the highlights of NASA Fermi's first five years in space. Short video containing highlights from Fermi's first 5 years of operation. The Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope is a NASA observatory designed to reveal the high-energy universe in never-before-seen detail. With Fermi, astronomers have a unique tool to explore high-energy processes associated with solar flares, spinning neutron stars, outbursts from black holes, exploding stars, supernova remnants and energetic particles to gain insight into how the universe works. Fermi detects gamma rays, the most powerful form of light. How powerful? The energy of visible light falls between 2 and 3 electron volts, but the gamma rays detected by Fermi have energies several thousand to billions of times greater. Fermi carries two instruments. Its Large Area Telescope (LAT) is vastly more capable than instruments flown previously, with higher angular resolution, wider field of view, greater energy resolution and range, and more precise time resolution for each gamma ray detected. The LAT tracks gamma rays with energies from 20 million electron volts (MeV) to more than 300 billion electron volts (GeV). Fermi's secondary instrument, the Gamma-ray Burst Monitor (GBM) has a much larger field of view, covering the entire sky not blocked by Earth. The GBM provides spectral coverage from the lower limit of the LAT down to 8,000 electron volts. The GBM is now the premier detector of gamma-ray bursts and has provided new insight into terrestrial gamma-ray flashes, high-energy bursts produced above thunderstorms. Completed: 18 July 2013 Animators: Walt Feimer (HTSI) Scott Wiessinger (USRA) Cruz DeWilde (Avant Gravity) Video Editor: Scott Wiessinger (USRA) Interviewees: Julie McEnery (NASA/GSFC) Eric Stoneking (NASA/GSFC) Roger Romani (Stanford University) Narrators: Scott Wiessinger (USRA) Erin McKinley (OSU) Genna Duberstein (USRA) Chris Smith (HTSI) Karen Fox (ASI) Leann M. Johnson (USRA) Elizabeth Hays (NASA/GSFC) Producer: Scott Wiessinger (USRA) Writer: Francis Reddy (Syneren Technologies) Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center

• published: 21 Aug 2013
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