ESA’s #Integral #satellite recently played a crucial role in discovering the flash of #gamma rays linked to the...

Originally shared by European Space Agency, ESA

ESA’s #Integral #satellite recently played a crucial role in discovering the flash of #gamma rays linked to the #gravitationalwaves released by the collision of two neutron stars.

On 17 August, a burst of gamma rays lit up in space for almost two seconds. It was promptly recorded by Integral and NASA’s Fermi satellite.

Such short gamma-ray bursts are not uncommon: Integral catches about 20 every year. But this one was special: just seconds before the two satellites saw the blast, an entirely different instrument was triggered on Earth.
http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Space_Science/Integral_sees_blast_travelling_with_gravitational_waves