#gamma rays

The High Altitude Water Cherenkov Observatory in Sierra Negra, Mexico. 


The cosmic sources of nine high-energy gamma rays have been identified by members of the High-Altitude Water Cherenkov (HAWC) Gamma-Ray Observatory collaboration, that includes Penn State scientists. All of the sources identified produce gamma rays with energies over 56 trillion electron volts (TeV) and three emit gamma rays extending to 100 TeV and beyond, making these the highest-energy sources ever observed in our galaxy.

These sources constitute a new catalog that will help explain where the particles that produce high-energy gamma rays originate and how they are accelerated to such extreme velocities. It may also provide important insight into the origins of cosmic rays — high energy particles that rain down on Earth’s atmosphere and may cause electronic problems in satellites and other machinery.

Read more about this research at Penn State News!