The GLAST (Gamma Ray Large Area Space Telescope) was sent into low-Earth orbit on June 11, 2008. Several months prior to Launch, NASA commissioned a series of interviews with project scientists, as well as a series of animations illustrating what those scientists described.

Gamma rays are a form of high-energy electromagnetic radiation produced by subatomic particle interaction, such as electron-positron annihilation or radioactive decay. Cosmic events capable of producing massive amounts of energy in the gamma spectrum range from merging binary neutron stars to hypernova galaxies.

Click here to see the full interview sequence in which these animations are featured.