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High Energy Stereoscopic System Hess

All articles tagged with #high energy stereoscopic system hess

astronomy2 years ago

"Unraveling Cosmic Mysteries: Black Hole Jets and Relativistic Particles"

Observations from the High Energy Stereoscopic System (HESS) in Namibia have identified the origin of high-energy cosmic rays to a region near a black hole in the Manatee Nebula. These findings shed light on the century-old mystery of cosmic ray origins and suggest that smaller black holes, known as microquasars, could contribute to the cosmic-ray population. The study's precise gamma-ray observations indicate that the cosmic rays are produced by mechanisms internal to the jets, rather than by collisions with other matter, strengthening the case for X-ray binaries as smaller analogues to supermassive black holes capable of accelerating cosmic rays.

astronomy2 years ago

Unprecedented Discovery: Pulsar Emission Shatters Energy Records

Astronomers have discovered the highest-energy outburst of light from a pulsar ever seen, indicating potential new physics around these dense, rapidly spinning dead stars. The gamma-ray output of the Vela pulsar was found to be around 200 times more powerful than average pulsars, with gamma-ray photons reaching 20 tera electron volts (TeV). This suggests that something unexpected is happening around the Vela pulsar and its polar jets, which have been observed to stretch as far as 0.7 light-years. The team proposed several possibilities for the powerful gamma-ray emission mechanism, including accelerated particles outside the standard light-cone zones, well-structured magnetic fields, or the bulk movement of winds from neutron stars. Further investigations will be conducted to understand the acceleration and emission processes in pulsars and their implications for other highly magnetized astrophysical objects.