Astronomers have made a remarkable discovery, observing the highest-energy light rays ever detected from the sun. This finding has raised intriguing questions about how such radiation is emitted from the solar atmosphere.
For decades, scientists have been studying various forms of high-energy radiation, including gamma rays, emitted by the sun, as predicted by theoretical models.
However, a recent study based on six years of data, published in the journal Physical Review Letters on Thursday, has revealed an unexpected surge in gamma rays from the sun at much higher energy levels than previously known.
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“The sun is more surprising than we knew. We thought we had this star figured out, but that’s not the case,” Independent quoted study of co-author Mehr Un Nisa from Michigan State University (MSU) as saying.
While this specific type of radiation does not reach Earth’s surface, it leaves distinct “telltale signatures” that can be observed in the atmosphere.
Researchers made this groundbreaking observation using the High-Altitude Water Cherenkov Observatory (HAWC) situated on the flanks of the Sierra Negra volcano near Puebla, Mexico.
Located at an altitude of approximately 4,100m (13,500ft), HAWC is specially designed to detect gamma rays and cosmic rays originating from the most extreme environments in the universe, such as supernova explosions.
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The observatory operates using a network of 300 large water tanks, each filled with about 200 metric tons of water, nestled between two dormant volcano peaks in Mexico.
In a surprising revelation, the gamma rays observed by Dr. Nisa and her team had an energy level of about 1 trillion electron volts, equivalent to 1 tera electron volt (1 TeV).
“After looking at six years’ worth of data, out popped this excess of gamma rays. When we first saw it, we were like, ‘We definitely messed this up.
The sun cannot be this bright at these energies’,” Independent quoted the physicist, who will soon be joining MSU’s faculty.
What astonished researchers even more was the sheer amount of these rays that they detected. This discovery opens up new avenues for investigating the sun’s emission processes and understanding the fascinating phenomena occurring in its solar atmosphere.
As astronomers continue to study and analyze the data, the mystery of these high-energy light rays from the sun deepens, inviting further exploration and research in the field of astrophysics.
