Picture of the Month 

July 2003

Radioactive ²⁶ Al in the Galaxy

The image shows a map of the Galaxy obtained with CGRO-Comptel (1991-2000). The insets show the clear detection of the ²⁶Al line with the SPI instrument on-board INTEGRAL after the first months of operation. This gamma-ray line is a tracer of recent nucleosynthesis, because of the relatively short lifetime of ²⁶Al; it is formed by the core-collapse of massive stars. The detection of the lines shows the ability of the SPI instrument to detect gamma-ray lines even with modest exposures. This opens up exciting possibility for more detailed studies of this line, since especially the Galactic Center will be observed by INTEGRAL for much longer (e.g. as part of the Galactic Center Deep Exposure).

Courtesy: the SPI team

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