What is Gamma-Ray Hunters?

Your door to the extreme Universe

Gamma-ray Hunters is a web application to discover very high-energy astrophysics. In it, you can follow 4 students carrying out research using the MAGIC telescopes, and learn about black holes, pulsars and galaxies of active nuclei.

In addition, we have prepared a challenge for you. If you complete it, you can participate in the prize draw to win a trip to La Palma for a night of observation using the MAGIC telescopes.

Register and start your journey to become a gamma-ray hunter.

Why Gamma-Ray Hunters?

Because we want to go to infinity and beyond

Gamma-Ray Hunters was born from the desire to bring young people closer to the most energetic and extreme phenomena of the Universe, as well as introduce them to the tools used to study them. To do so, we have created this platform with a format and design that hopes to be innovative at all times, by combining web, Python and audiovisual material.

The web application is aimed at secondary-school students, but everyone is welcome to enjoy the adventure. It includes, on the one hand, educational material to learn about the work being developed in the field of Gamma astronomy. It also presents information from telescopes that have been designed and built in state research centres. Finally, its structure has been designed in order to obtain, manage and analyse a series of data and reach conclusions about what they are observing and how it relates to what they have learned from the extreme Universe.

The messages and the setting are adapted to the age groups the project is aimed to, but it is not just for fun. The complexity of the project will increase as participants become involved in the gamma-ray hunting process, but the research component is built into the game, the learning experience and the challenge presented by a good enigma.

Who is who?

Behind Gamma-Ray Hunters, there is a highly diverse team.

To carry out this project we have counted on the help of colleagues from different departments of IFAE as well as external collaborators. Here is the complete Gamma-Ray Hunters team:

Oscar Blanch

Researcher IFAE

Sebastián
Grinschpun

Communication IFAE

Alícia Labián

Communication IFAE

Javi López

Developer

Daniel Guberman

PhD Student

Alba Fernández

PhD Student

Quim Palacio

PhD Student

Leyre Nogués

PhD Student

Maria del Villar

Designer

Oscar Martínez

Technician IFAE

Armando Quispe

Technician IFAE

Adiv González Muñoz

Video time-lapse

How did we do it?

Scientific software and collaboration tools

Gamma-Ray Hunters integrates web technologies with the cloud programming environment, Google Colab. We use Python as well as several libraries that scientists regularly use to analyse data. All these technologies together make Gamma-Ray Hunters, a powerful educational tool for the popularization of science.

Who is it funded by?

More than anything, Gamma-Ray Hunters has needed al tot of time, but it also needed little money!

This project would not have been possible without the financial support of the Fundación Española para la Ciencia y la Tecnología and the Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad through the Program Centros de Excelencia Severo Ochoa.

What data do we use?

For Gamma-Ray Hunters, we use data recorded by the MAGIC telescopes. But...

We have optimized it for educational purposes. We have adapted the data so that the analyses and conclusions are easier to follow.

Do you want to talk to us?

We would like to hear from you and get your opinion

You will find us at:

Cazadores de Rayos Gamma

info@cazadoresderayosgamma.com

Institut de Física d’Altes Energies (IFAE)

Credits

Director

Oscar Blanch

Coordination, Edition and Production

Sebastián Grinschpun, Alícia Labián

Web development

Sebastián Grinschpun, Javier López

Original design

Maria del Villar

Original Music

Óscar Martínez

Video edition

Armando Quispe

Actors

Daniel Guberman, Alba Fernández, Leyre Nogués, Quim Palacio

Thank you!

Gamma-Ray Hunters wasn't built in a day

We want to thank all those people who have done their bit for Gamma-Ray Hunters, providing ideas, opinions, and advice, even long before it began to take shape. Special thanks to Digna Couso, Victor López, Carol de Britos and the participantsin the programme Bojos per la Física 2016.We can safely say getting here would not have been possible without your help. Thank you all!