Supernova May Produce Cosmic Rays |
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Written by spacetravel.org
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Friday, 23 September 2005 23:26 |
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Astronomers studying Tychos supernova remnant have found evidence that a large amount of cosmic rays were produced by a supernova shockwave.
The debris from the supernova remnant expands at about six million miles per hour, producing two X-ray emitting shockwaves: one moving outward into the interstellar gas, and one moving inward into the stellar debris. According to the standard theory, the outward-moving shockwave should be about two light-years ahead of the stellar debris. However, astronomers observing Tychos remnant, using NASAs Chandra X-ray observatory, have discovered that the stellar debris is only about half a light-year behind. John P. Hughes and Jessica Warren of Rutgers University in Piscataway, New Jersey, believe that this is evidence that the shock wave has accelerated nuclei to cosmic ray energies.
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