Mountaintop observatory sees gamma rays from exotic Milky Way object
Wednesday, October 3, 2018 - 15:30
in Astronomy & Space
The High-Altitude Water Cherenkov Gamma-Ray Observatory (HAWC) collaboration has detected highly energetic light coming from a microquasar -- a black hole that gobbles up stuff from a companion star and blasts out powerful jets of material. Data analysis indicates that electron acceleration and collisions at the ends of the microquasar's jets produced powerful gamma rays. Multi-wavelength messengers from this unusual microquasar may offer scientists a glimpse into more extreme events happening in distant galaxies.