When: 17 October, 2002 launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome, Russia
Who: ESA
What: Giant space telescope
Where: Orbiting Earth
Why: To observe the universe's most energetic events
How: X-ray detector and imager, UV and Optical cameras, spectrometers

Launched in 2002, the International Gamma Ray Astrophysics Laboratory (INTEGRAL) spaceship was the heaviest thing Europe ever launched. The telescopes on this giant spaceship weigh two tonnes on their own! Why so big?

Integral's job is to watch closely the most exotic space objects in many different kinds of light, and that requires a suite of equipment. And every piece of that equipment has to be protected with heavy shields from the Sun's radiation and other stray particles. In this way, all the data that Integral collect are from the objects the astronomers care about.

Supermassive Black Holes
If you are a space buff like me, you probably really love to hear about the exotic stuff out there, like black holes and neutron stars and all of that. And perhaps you also want to know more about how life is possible in our universe, a question that I often ponder. If so, then Integral is a mission to watch for both, because the issues are one and the same.

Integral has observed supermassive black holes in the centres of galaxies. By supermassive, I don't mean the size of the black hole but the amount of matter inside it. (Check out our Lives and Deaths of Stars tutorial for more information.)

A giant black hole lurks in the centre of our own Galaxy, but it has been difficult to watch from our position so far away. However, Integral has been able to see the black hole's effect on objects around it. Astronomers have learned that only 350 years ago, that monster black hole flared up powerfully and may do again in the near future. Worry not; we won't feel a thing!

High Energy Sprays and Burps
For over thirty years, astronomers have known that high energy light sprays the universe. They couldn't figure out exactly where it was coming from, until Integral was set to the task. Astronomers now have a map of this light, thanks to Integral, and know that the mysterious Gamma-ray glow they've been seeing is actually due to a zoo of exotic objects.

Here's the thought process: A universe as big as ours contains countless stars. (To get a feel for how large, read our Size and Scale tutorial.)  If you figure that a percentage of those stars are big enough to explode at the end of their lifespan, then surely a percentage of black holes and neutron stars are hovering among them. (Neutron stars? Read our Star Lives and Deaths tutorial.)

Black holes and neutron stars burp high energy light all of the time, and Integral has spotted them all over the place. Added together, they make up the spray of high energy light through the universe.

Without the violent death of stars, without the high energy creation of black holes, life in the universe could not exist. As decaying garden waste feeds sprouts, the products of a dying star, too, create life.

You can get the details from our Star Lives and Deaths tutorial, but the gist is that the heavy elements, like iron, in the cells of living things like us can only be made when a star crushes itself. So, every time Integral watches a star explode, it is gathering data about how the universe enriches itself.

Careers
For more information about careers and or educational opportunities using Integral, here is a list of the UK participants: University of Southampton. However, any professional astronomer in the UK can propose a mission to use observing time on the telescope.