Record-Breaking Cosmic Rays Detected Near Earth
Scientists have detected the most powerful cosmic rays ever, with energies up to 40 teraelectronvolts, using the HESS observatory in Namibia. These rays, consisting of electrons and positrons, likely originate from sources within a few thousand light-years of Earth, as they lose energy while traveling through space. The exact sources remain unknown, but the findings, published in Physical Review Letters, provide crucial data on cosmic rays in an unexplored energy range, impacting our understanding of the local cosmic neighborhood.
