First H.E.S.S. II data reveal promising pulsar signal
Tuesday, July 8, 2014 - 07:30
in Astronomy & Space
Following the intensive commissioning phase of the largest Cherenkov telescope worldwide (H.E.S.S. CT5), the H.E.S.S. collaboration has announced the detection of cosmic gamma rays of 30 gigaelectronvolts (GeV). The High Energy Stereoscopic System, which is located in Namibia, measured pulsed gamma-rays in the southern sky for the first time from ground level, thus demonstrating spectacularly its performance. The radiation originates from the Vela pulsar, the first pulsar detected by H.E.S.S. and – after the Crab pulsar – the second pulsar ever detected by ground-based gamma ray telescopes.