The HESS ( High Energy Stereoscopic System ) observatory located in Namibia (Africa) has been mapping the center of our galaxy in the very high energy gamma ray wavelength for more than a decade. According to the study published in the journal Nature , in which 42 international institutions have been involved, this source of cosmic radiation (composed of high-energy particles such as protons, electrons and atomic nuclei) with unprecedented energy, is produced by cosmic rays. from the deepest and most intimate area of our galaxy, the black hole at the center of the Milky Way.
Examination of HESS data has revealed that this emission accelerates cosmic rays to energies 100 times greater than those achieved at CERN’s Large Hadron Collider (LHC); therefore presents an unprecedented cosmic radiation .
Our planet is continually being bombarded by these high-energy particles (cosmic radiation) that are electrically charged and are therefore attracted by the interstellar magnetic fields that surround our galaxy. Hence the complexity to know its origin. However, very high energy gamma rays travel in a straight line and are not affected by magnetic fields (their origin can be traced).
When hitting Earth’s atmosphere, these gamma rays produce faint bluish flashes that can be detected at night by sensitive telescopes with large mirrors and fast light sensors. This is how the experts discovered more than 100 sources of high-energy gamma rays in the sky.
Until now, astrophysicists had not been able to discover these high-energy galactic cosmic ray sources. Thanks to this research, we can now argue that somewhere within the central 33 light years of the Milky Way there is an astrophysical source capable of accelerating protons to energies of approximately one petaelectronvolt continuously for at least 1,000 years. Thus, the most plausible source for these PEV (petaelectronvolt) protons is the supermassive black hole called Sgr A located in the center of the galaxy.
We are facing a natural particle accelerator with an energy never seen before, which we will call “Pevatron” . And it is that, as we see, we have just witnessed the first identification of a source of cosmic rays with energy in the petaelectronvolt range within the Milky Way.
