Centaurus A - one of the closest galaxies with an active galactic nucleus - although it is over 10 million light years away. If you are looking for a likely source of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays - you may not need to look further. Credit: ESO.
Cosmic rays are really sub-atomic particles, being mainly protons (hydrogen nuclei) and occasionally helium or heavier atomic nuclei and very occasionally electrons. Cosmic ray particles are very energetic as a result of them having a substantial velocity and hence a substantial momentum.
The Oh-My-God particle detected over Utah in 1991 was probably a proton traveling at 0.999 (and add another 20 x 9s after that) of the speed of light and it allegedly carried the same kinetic energy as a baseball traveling at 90 kilometers an hour.(...)
Read the rest of Astronomy Without A Telescope – Oh-My-God Particles (641 words)
© Steve Nerlich for Universe Today, 2011. |
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Full story at http://www.universetoday.com/86490/astronomy-without-a-telescope-oh-my-god-particles/
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