Heart of a galaxy emits gamma rays

Quite a few distant galaxies turn out to be cosmic delivery rooms. Large numbers of massive stars are born in the hearts of these starburst galaxies, and later explode as supernovae. In the remnants they leave behind, particles are accelerated to very high energies. Astrophysicists have now used the H.E.S.S. telescopes to make detailed measurements of the gamma rays from the NGC 253 galaxy. As predicted, these high-energy rays originate from the region of maximum supernova activity close to the centre...

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