The First Glast Symposium (aip Conference Proceedings / Astronomy And Astrophysics)

This symposium was the first in a series of meetings devoted to the science of the Gamma-ray Large Area Space Telescope (GLAST), yet it was also a successor of the five remarkable Compton Symposia and subsequent Gamma2001 meeting. The GLAST Symposia provide an essential forum for exchange of ideas and information across a broad range of scientific investigations. GLAST, NASA's new gamma-ray observatory to be launched within the next year, will open a wide new window on the universe. Gamma rays are the highest-energy form of electromagnetic radiation, and the gamma-ray sky is spectacularly different from what we perceive with our own eyes. With a huge leap in all key capabilities, GLAST data will enable scientists to answer persistent questions across a broad range of topics, including supermassive black hole systems, pulsars, gamma-ray bursts, the origin of cosmic rays, and searches for signals of new physics. An astro-particle physics partnership, GLAST was developed in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Energy, along with important contributions from France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and Sweden. More information can be found at http: //glast.gsfc.nasa.gov/ and at links therein.