Gamma-ray Burst Monitor

instrument

Also known as: GBM

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Last updated

July 19, 2026

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The Gamma-ray Burst Monitor (GBM) is one of two instruments aboard the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope, launched in 2008. The GBM's primary function is to detect and study gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), which are among the most violent and energetic events in the universe. It consists of 12 sodium iodide detectors that emit flashes of light when struck by gamma rays. By measuring the intensity of these flashes across multiple detectors, scientists can pinpoint the location of a gamma-ray burst. This allows the Fermi spacecraft to orient its other instrument, the Large Area Telescope (LAT), towards the source for more detailed observation. The GBM works in conjunction with the LAT to observe gamma rays in the energy range of 10 keV to 300 GeV.1

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Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope
…Area Telescope (LAT) and the Gamma-ray Burst Monitor (GBM), which work in the energy range of 10 keV to 300 GeV (10,000 to 300,000,000,000 electron volts) and are based on highly successful predecessors that flew on the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory (CGRO) in the 1990s. Unlike visible light or even…
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…Area Telescope (LAT) and the Gamma-ray Burst Monitor (GBM), which work in the energy range of 10 keV to 300 GeV (10,000 to 300,000,000,000 electron volts) and are based on highly successful predecessors that flew on the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory (CGRO) in the 1990s. Unlike visible light or even…
Read More