An Italian satellite blasted off Monday to catch the rays that neutron stars and supernovae emit when they explode.
The satellite, called AGILE, left a space station in southern India Monday morning and was already at work in Earth's orbit a few hours later.
AGILE (Astrorivelatore Gamma a Immagine Leggero, or Lightweight Gamma Image Detector) is the first satellite in over a decade made entirely in Italy.
It is also the first European satellite to be launched from India - from the Shriharikota base near Madras.
Over the next two years, AGILE will follow in the foosteps of its predecessor SAX, garnering key data on X-rays and gamma rays.
Scientists say this will be the first time the two types of rays will be caught and analysed simultaneously.
"AGILE will permit huge steps in the analysis of key factors in high-energy astrophysics," the Italian Space Agency (ASI) said.
The data picked up by the satellite will be beamed back to ASI's lab at Frascati outside Rome.
"Mapping the sources of these rays will enable us to get important information on black holes, neutron stars, supernovae, active galaxies and future galactic phemomenena," ASI said.
