The National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope has aided astronomers in the discovery of a gamma-ray pulsar in a galaxy outside the Milky Way.

The discovery is now the most luminous gamma-ray pulsar ever detected in history of space exploration. It is also the first years-long cyclic gamma-ray emission ever detected from any galaxy, the space agency announced .

"It's now clear that a single pulsar, PSR J0540-6919, is responsible for roughly half of the gamma-ray brightness we originally thought came from the nebula. That is a genuine surprise,” remarked lead scientist Pierrick Martin, an astrophysicist at the National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) and the Research Institute in Astrophysics and Planetology in France.

Stefano Ciprini, who served as the Fermi team coordinator at the Italian Space Agency (ASDC) in Rome, said that their team picked up indications of an approximately two-year-long variation of gamma rays from a galaxy known as PG 1553+113 after many years of data gathering from the Fermi's Large Area Telescope (LAT).

“This signal is subtle and has been seen over less than four cycles, so while this is tantalizing, we need more observations,” he said.

On Fermi enterprise

NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope is an astrophysics and particle physics partnership that aims to speed up discoveries in space. It is developed in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Energy as well as sponsorships from academic institutions and partners in various countries such as Italy, Japan, Spain, France, and Germany.

Before the launch of the telescope in 2008, only seven gamma-ray pulsars had been discovered by various agencies across the globe. Since then, 160 more pulsars have been discovered. Almost 50 percent of gamma-ray sources detected by Fermi’s Large Area Telescope are considered blazars or active galaxies.

“In essence, we are looking down the throat of the jet, so how it varies in brightness becomes our primary tool for understanding the structure of the jet and the environment near the black hole," said Sara Cutini , an astrophysicist at ASDC.

The discovery is considered a big leap in the global space exploration industry that is currently experiencing a lull.

“The progress of human space exploration, however, has stalled. The International Space Station was once thought to be a steppingstone to a more expansive program of sending men and women into space. Colonization of the moon seemed next on the agenda, but clearly this has yet to be done,” said Kenneth Hicks, revered astronomy and physics professor at Ohio University in Athens.

Another significant discovery

Another substantial addition to the discovery segment is the recent unveiling of tech innovator Thunder Energies Corporation ’s ( OTCQB: TNRG ) latest product, the Santilli Telescope . This optical instrument is the first and only telescope that is capable of detecting and recording antimatter celestial bodies.

The product is now commercially available through a distribution model across the globe. Ever since its launch, several groups—companies, research bodies, academic institutions—from the amateur and professional exploration sector have expressed their interest in the revolutionary product.

“Now, several optical labs are coming to us asking to build our telescopes,” said Dr. Ruggero Maria Santilli, Chief Scientist of Thunder Energies Corporation (TEC) and creator of the Santilli Telescope.

Dr Santilli is among the many revered scientists who believe that discoveries and advancements in science could only fully materialize if professional scientists from the academe and the government would work hand-in-hand with amateur and regular science enthusiasts. This is also the reason why he wants the Santilli Telescope to be available to everyone, be they professionals or not.

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