Scientists detect mysterious gamma rays from the Sun
What's the story
An international team of scientists, including those from Michigan State University, have detected the most energetic light emitted from the Sun.
The group found that this type of light, called gamma rays, is far brighter than what they had imagined, challenging our current understanding of our home star.
This discovery was based on an analysis of six years of data.
Details
The gamma rays had energy in tera electron volt range
The Sun is known to release energy in several wavelengths. One of them is visible light which has energy of about one electron volt of energy.
Surprisingly, the detected gamma-ray radiation had high energy of one trillion electron volts, or one tera electron volt (1 TeV).
Scientists are not entirely sure, as yet, how these rays carry such an enormous amount of energy.
What Next?
The HAWC observatory was used for observations
The High-Altitude Water Cherenkov (HAWC) observatory in Mexico, is among the few detectors that can observe the Sun in the TeV range.
This observatory, which comprises 300 huge water tanks, sits 13,000 feet above sea level.
"From this vantage point, it can observe the aftermath of gamma rays striking air in the atmosphere," according to the official statement.
Information
The discovery opens up new avenues of research
This significant discovery reminds us that there is still much to learn about the Sun and opens up new avenues for research into the Sun's emissions and their effects on our planet.