Cosmic rays are incredibly powerful invisible particles, and we can’t be sure where they come from. Not much in the way of a comforting thought, but it makes for a cosmic mystery that astronomers have been trying to solve for decades. And now they have come one step closer. Here’s what we do know. Cosmic rays are energetic atomic nuclei travelling at near the speed of light. They hit our atmosphere and rapidly interact with the molecules there to break into billions of smaller, less energetic particles that shower down on the life on Earth, without giving us much notice...
When could the Moon possibly be brighter than the Sun? The Sun is much bigger, produces energy, and gives all the energy needed for life on Earth. But if you look at the sky in gamma rays, the highest energy photons on the electromagnetic spectrum, you’ll see the Moon more easily than the Sun. Why? The Moon is the brightest gamma ray source in the sky, because it has no atmosphere or magnetic field. Essentially it has no protection from the dangerous cosmic rays that are constantly zipping through space. When they hit the Earth’s atmosphere they create a cosmic...
Remember last week when I was talking about the evidence for some ancient-but-astronomically-recent supernovae? It turns out there is other evidence! Evidence that has helped scientists narrow down the potential source locations. Data from the Cosmic Ray Isotope Spectrometer (CRIS), an instrument aboard NASA’s Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE) spacecraft, has helped us figure out where the recent supernovae might have come from. CRIS measures what we call cosmic rays, atomic nuclei that have been accelerated across the galaxy at close to the speed of light. CRIS has been around for a while, and through 17 years of cosmic ray observations,...
The gravitational center of most objects and clusters in the universe are the place where the most massive and high energy interactions take place. For the solar system, the Sun’s core is hot and energetic. For star clusters, central regions host the most massive and brightest stars. For galaxy clusters, the most massive galaxies in the universe are seen in the center. And for individual galaxies, the Milky Way included, the core is where the fun happens. In the core of our galaxy, there are many massive and powerful objects, not limited to a supermassive star cluster, pulsars, supernova remnants,...
The elements that make up our world and our selves, where do they come from? Sure there is plenty of Oxygen in the air, Silicon and Carbon are just lying around, and a bunch of other stuff can be found across our planet. but where did they come from originally? We know that most of the elements are synthesized within stars, but which ones aren’t? Which ones are made in a lab? The Big Bang gave rise to the first elements Hydrogen and Helium, which eventually clumped together to form the first stars and star producing the heavier stuff. Lithium,...
