Artist’s impression of an ultra-high energy cosmic ray reaching Earth. New research suggests that some of the highest-energy cosmic rays may consist of atomic nuclei heavier than iron. The background depicts candidate source objects for these cosmic rays, such as active galactic nuclei and strongly magnetized neutron stars. Credit: Osaka Metropolitan University/Kyoto University L-INSIGHT/Ryuunosuke Takeshige. All Rights Reserved.
The mysterious Amaterasu particle may not be a proton at all. New research suggests that some of the most extreme cosmic rays could be ultraheavy atomic nuclei, heavier than iron, which are better able to retain their energy while traveling through space...
Recent Comments