Astronomers in Tibet caught the most powerful signal from the Crab Nebula

Scholars joint Chinese-JapaneseExperiment Tibet ASgamma recorded the most powerful emission of cosmic gamma radiation ever observed from an astrophysical source. The researchers believe that the cause of this phenomenon was the interaction of high-energy electrons with the cosmic microwave background radiation - the residual radiation of the Big Bang.

The most powerful signal from space

Astronomers explain that the source of radiationlocated in the Crab Nebula. It is located 6500 light years from us in the constellation Taurus and is the remnant of the dead star SN 1054. This star was first described in 1054 AD. Hence the name. People of that time saw a very bright supernova explosion in the sky. As a result, this event was noted in the official chronicles of the Chinese Song Dynasty, as well as in the work of the 12th century Japanese poet Fujiwara Teika.

In the course of the experiment, researchers observedusing different types of electromagnetic waves. These observations revealed the presence of gamma radiation in the range from 100 to 450 tera-electron volts (TeV). Previously, the highest energy level of gamma radiation that was ever observed on Earth was 75 TeV. It was recorded using the HEGRA telescope.

See also: Astronomers received a mysterious radio signal from a distant galaxy

As indicated by the site Phys.org, the Tibet ASgamma experiment has been conducted in Tibet since 1990, at an altitude of 4300 meters above sea level. In 2014, the Sino-Japanese team of scientists updated the equipment, adding very sensitive radiation detectors. They can suppress up to 99.92 percent of cosmic ray background noise.

Install Tibet ASgamma

Scientists add that a total ofThe Crab Nebula received 24 signals. And they all turned out to be with energy above 100 TeV and low background noise. At the same time, the highest emission energy was 450 TeV.

Why is this discovery important?

Detecting cosmic gamma rays with powerover 100 TeV is the key to understanding the origin of cosmic rays of very high energy. They remain a mystery to astronomers since their discovery in 1912.

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