NASA scientists created 21 modern constellations for the gamma-ray sky

Gleamoscope/Fermi
Telescope

• When we look into space, we see only visible light, but
  there are many wavelengths we can’t see.
• NASA’s Fermi space telescope can see gamma rays, which
  are invisible to the human eye.
• Only the most energetic objects in the universe create
  gamma rays.
• In honor of the Fermi telescope’s 10th year of
  operations, scientists on the mission came up with 21 new
  (unofficial) constellations that 
  honor
  Albert Einstein, the Hulk, Doctor Who, and more.

In celebration of a long-lived space telescope that’s mapped an
invisible side of the universe, NASA just released a list of 21
modern and unofficial constellations.

Space might look like a dark void studded with just a few specks
of light, yet this is
something of an illusion.

What we see is only a rainbow of visible light: a limited slice
of the electromagnetic spectrum, and of reality itself. Our human
eyes can’t detect “colors” of light that are less energetic than
deep red, such as radio, microwave, and infrared. Nor can we see
light more energetic than violet, such ultraviolet rays, X-rays,
and gamma rays, the most energetic form of light in the universe.

But
special telescopes can see these wavelengths and render them
visible to us.

One such observatory is the Fermi gamma-ray space telescope. NASA
launched the car-size satellite in 2008, and it has been mapping
a normally invisible side of the universe (shown above) ever
since then.

Fermi’s view of the gamma-ray universe has revealed all sorts of
objects to astronomers, including never-before seen
views of solar flares,
cosmic explosions, and other highly energetic and often

violent processes in space.

So to celebrate Fermi’s 10th year of operation, scientists on the
team came up with 21 new — and kind of hilarious — gamma-ray
constellations.

NASA described the constellations as unofficial, since there are
only 88 recognized constellations,
according to the International Astronomical Union. Nevertheless,
imagining a giant Godzilla, Hulk, Albert Einstein, and even the
Fermi telescope itself as a constellation in a normally invisible
sky is a mind-expanding exercise.

“Developing these unofficial constellations was a fun way to
highlight a decade of Fermi’s accomplishments,” Julie McEnery,
the Fermi project scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight
Center, said in a press release. “One way or
another, all of the gamma-ray constellations have a tie-in to
Fermi science.”

See scientists’ gamma-ray constellations

The gamma-ray constellations suggested by scientists run the
gamut from silly to storied.

In the northern sky, there’s
Schroedinger’s Cat (in homage to a bizarre physics thought
experiment), “The Little Prince” (from the famous French novel),
a Saturn V rocket (teh one used by Apollo astronauts to reach the
moon), the Starship Enterprise (from Star Trek), and the Roman
Colosseum.

Scientists who work on
NASA’s Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope came up with 21 modern
constellations for the invisible night sky.

NASA

Also in the northern sky are the Incredible Hulk, the Eiffel
Tower, the Fermi telescope, and a TARDIS (a
space- and time-traveling police call box from “Doctor Who”).

Scientists who work on
NASA’s Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope came up with 21 modern
constellations for the invisible night sky.

NASA

The southern night sky has its own weird new gamma-ray
constellations.

Among them is a black widow spider, Mount Fuji, Mjolnir (the
mythical hammer of the Norse god Thor), and a portrait of
Einstein.

Scientists who work on
NASA’s Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope came up with 21 modern
constellations for the invisible night sky.

NASA

You can explore all of the new constellations at Fermi’s interactive webpage. The
feature also enables you to see where the constellations are
located in the visible night sky, relative to official
constellations like Ursa Major, Orion, and Gemini.