Human beings for millennia have gazed with awe at the vast torrent of stars - bright and dim - shining in Earth's night sky that comprise the Milky Way. Our home galaxy, however, is now being observed for the first time in a brand new way.
An artist's composition of the Milky Way seen with a neutrino lens is shown in this undated handout image. Collaboration/U.S. National Science Foundation /ESO /Handout via REUTERS
The neutrinos were detected over a span of a decade at the IceCube Neutrino Observatory at a U.S. scientific research station at the South Pole, using more than 5,000 sensors covering an area the size of a small mountain. Neutrinos are electrically neutral, undisturbed by even the strongest magnetic field, and rarely interact with matter, earning the nickname "ghost particle." As neutrinos travel through space, they pass unimpeded through matter - stars, planets and, for that matter, people.
Neutrinos are produced by the same sources as cosmic rays, the highest-energy particles ever observed, but differ in a key respect. Cosmic rays, as electrically charged particles, cannot be traced straight back to their source because strong magnetic fields in space alter their trajectory. The direction from which neutrinos arrive points directly back to their original source.
日本 最新ニュース, 日本 見出し
Similar News:他のニュース ソースから収集した、これに似たニュース記事を読むこともできます。
Scientists recreate what the Milky Way might look like to alien astronomersWhat would an alien astronomer in a distant galaxy see if they looked up at the Milky Way in the night sky with a telescope?
続きを読む »
What Would the Milky Way Look Like From Afar?Even though we're embedded inside the Milky Way, we don't know precisely what our galaxy looks like. Astronomers have had to build up a map of our galaxy slowly and carefully by measuring the distance to various structures and mapping them into three dimensions. What would it look like if you could travel millions of light-years away and observe the galaxy from afar? How would its overall chemical composition compare to other galaxies in the Universe?
続きを読む »
200 years ago, the Milky Way’s central black hole briefly awokeThe black hole is thought to be mostly quiet and dim. Now, glowing cosmic clouds have revealed the behemoth’s last flare.
続きを読む »
Scientists find high-energy neutrinos spewing from our Milky Way galaxy in landmark discovery (video)'This observation of high-energy neutrinos opens up an entirely new window to study the properties of our host galaxy.'
続きを読む »
South Pole observatory reveals hidden view of the Milky Way with help from Drexel physicistsThe new view of our galaxy was created from cosmic particles called neutrinos. Penn State and University of Delaware researchers also were involved.
続きを読む »