Cosmic Rays – Astronomy Now

Solving a cosmic (ray) mystery

12 March 2021 Astronomy Now

New research indicates the most energetic cosmic rays may be generated in young star clusters, not supernovae as previously theorised.

NuSTAR X-ray telescope shows Eta Carinae source of cosmic rays

4 July 2018 Astronomy Now

The origins of high-energy cosmic rays are difficult to trace because of the effects of magnetic fields, but data from NASA’s NuSTAR X-ray telescope indicates the massive binary star Eta Carinae is one likely source.

Highest-energy cosmic rays have extragalactic origin

26 September 2017 Astronomy Now

A 50-year-old debate has at last been settled: the highest-energy cosmic rays do not originate in our own galaxy but in galaxies located tens or even hundreds of millions of light-years away.

Station-bound instrument to open new chapter in the story of cosmic rays

9 August 2017 Stephen Clark

Physicists are gearing up to send a re-engineered science instrument originally designed for lofty balloon flights high in Earth’s atmosphere to the International Space Station next week to broaden their knowledge of cosmic rays, subatomic particles traveling on intergalactic routes that could hold the key to unlocking mysteries about supernovas, black holes, pulsars and dark matter.

Did a low-mass supernova trigger formation of solar system?

29 November 2016 Astronomy Now

About 4.6 billion years ago, a cloud of gas and dust that eventually formed our solar system was disturbed. The ensuing gravitational collapse formed the proto-Sun with a surrounding disc where the planets were born. Now, forensic evidence from meteorites provides conclusive evidence that a low-mass supernova was the trigger.

Radioactive ‘timers’ reveal likely source of galactic cosmic rays

22 April 2016 Astronomy Now

Most of the cosmic rays arriving at Earth from our galaxy come from nearby clusters of massive stars, according to new observations from NASA’s Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE) spacecraft. But the detection of a few radioactive cosmic-ray iron nuclei also indicates that there has been a supernova in our galactic neighbourhood within the last few million years.

VLA reveals spectacular “haloes” of spiral galaxies

13 October 2015 Astronomy Now

An international team of astronomers used the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) to investigate 35 edge-on spiral galaxies at distances from 11 million to 137 million light-years from Earth. The study has revealed that “haloes” of cosmic rays and magnetic fields above and below the galaxies’ discs are much more common than previously thought.

Celestial Messengers – Cosmic Rays

24 April 2015 Astronomy Now

Mario Bertolotti’s book on cosmic rays can also be read as the scientific process in action, a story that goes hand-in-hand with research into particle physics.