Unveiling cosmic secrets: Record-setting radiation near Earth
Using a network of telescopes in Namibia, a team of scientists has detected electrons with remarkably high energy. Although their origin is unknown, research suggests that their source is close to the Solar System. This is the first detection of exceptionally strong cosmic radiation of this kind.
8:09 AM EST, November 27, 2024
Cosmic radiation consists of high-energy, charged particles moving in outer space at immense speeds, close to the speed of light. Its sources can include objects such as the Sun, black holes, pulsars, exploding stars, or remnants of supernovae. As National Geographic reported, Earth is protected from its harmful effects by the atmosphere and magnetosphere, which effectively block most of this radiation.
Studying cosmic radiation, especially its most energetic components, is extremely challenging. After ten years of work, however, an international team of scientists has achieved significant success using the H.E.S.S. observatory in Namibia.
The journal "Physical Review Letters" describes the discovery of cosmic radiation electrons with record high energy reaching 40 tera electronvolts (TeV). This is about 400 times greater than the maximum capabilities of terrestrial accelerators.
40 TeV represents energy approximately a trillion times greater than the energy of visible light, which ranges from 1.6 to 3.3 electronvolts (eV). The origin of such high-energy particles remains a mystery. However, it is known that their source must be relatively close to Earth, as particles with such high energy quickly lose it while traveling through space. Therefore, electrons and positrons with 40 TeV energy could not have traversed too great a distance before being detected by the telescopes.
Radiation near Earth
According to researchers associated with the H.E.S.S. consortium, many stars, including the nearest ones only about two light years away, are within a few hundred light-years of Earth. In this region, there may also be "dead stars," such as pulsars or supernova remnants, which could be sources of high-energy electrons.
Kathrin Egberts, a research team member, estimates that the source of these particles could be located a few thousand light-years from Earth, which is a small fraction relative to the total diameter of the Milky Way, about 100,000 light years.
As reported by National Geographic, although the exact emission location of these charged particles could not be pinpointed, their presence indicates the existence of extremely powerful cosmic radiation accelerators nearby.
