Tag Archives: cosmic rays

Where do cosmic rays come from?

The Earth is constantly bombarded by cosmic raysrains of high-energy particles destroying our planet at almost the speed of light from all directions. While this may sound like the precursor to a sci-fi alien invasion, it is a real phenomenon that scientists have been aware of for more than a century. Despite their dramatic description,… Read More »

A vampire’s black hole is a ‘cosmic particle accelerator’ that could solve a long-standing astronomical mystery

Scientists may have found evidence that black vampire holes that feed on their victim stars – so-called microquasars – are the cosmic particle accelerators responsible for mysterious high-energy cosmic rays we see bombarding Earth. These stellar-mass black holes exist in binary systems with a supergiant star from which they greedily strip material. Some of that… Read More »