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8/14/2019 Philippine Astronomical Society - July 2009 Appulse issue
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APPULSEOfcial Newsletter of the Philippine Astronomical Society
July 2009Vol. 41 No. 63
PROPELLING ASTRONOMY EDUCATION TOWARD THE ACHIEVEMENT OF SCIENTIFIC EXCELLENCE AMONG FILIPINOS
ONCE A DREAMER... A Prelude on Historys 2nd Longest TotalSolar Eclipse by Allen Yu
Volume 41 No. 63 1
We are now aboard the plane en routeto Asias motherland, the historiccommunist stronghold on this side of the
world. Once we touch down we will ac-
climatize ourselves to the Chinese air and
skyline, where ultra-modern urbanization
has caused the night sky to be completely
washed out leaving only the Moon as the
celestial object visible in its night sky.
But we are not seeing the Moon at night,
in fact, the night sky is useless to us. In the
dead of the night, just a few hours before
sunrise we drag our weary bodies off the
bed, force our face into the cold morn-
ing water and dress up for the days main
event.
We have our checklist of things and leave
no stones unturned, then grab a bite of
quick breakfast and leave Suzhou for Jiax-
ing, the site reserved for visitors to view theeclipse. For in a few more hours past nine in
the morning, the morning shine seems pal-
er than usual, the wind gets colder, and an
eerie atmosphere starts to replace the lively
morning chatter and festivities. The Suns
shadow appears crescent through the pin-
holes of the leaves of the trees. The Earth, it
seems will stand still, perhaps caught nap-
ping as well, along with the morning souls
that went into hiding, the cocks crow, the
creatures of the night take their heads out
of the burrows, and 100 million chinky-
eyed people living along the eclipse path,
plus an assortment of united colors of Ben-
etton, red, white, black, green, strain their
necks counting precious seconds from a
few minutes of arrested anticipation, pray-
ing darn hard that no clouds would spoil
the perfect day.
Just then, a running shadow wavers through
the ground like a shockwave of an impact,
impossible to miss, and more impossible
to photograph. Take a moment to observe
the ground too,
folks. And if
you want some
weird experi-
ment, try to let
an egg stand
during totality.
Debatable theo-
ry has it that thecombined grav-
itational forces
of the Moon
and the Sun is
enough to make
an egg stand
Hmmmm.I
wonder if I can
stand my egg as
well hehehe, but hey, dont laugh, they at-
tempted it in Thailand in the 90s - just one
of those powerful eclipse myths around.
Seconds before, the feeble light of the once
mighty Sun came to naught as the spectacle
now shows the Diamond Ring and the Bai-
leys Beads. I want to observe these shows
personally, and photography might spoil
this opportunity; so if you have a videocam
aimed at the vastness of the lands, a rush-
ing gigantic shadow crashes in turning day
into that articial darkness we all spent
money, effort, tears and sighs, uneasiness
and discouragement, and despair preying
on our souls. and all what we waited for
- the Totality!
The crowd erupts, cheers and tears owing
as we see the Suns corona dancing, and
suddenly we realized, the long-forgotten
Sun is a wonderful sight to behold! The co-
rona is a story of beauty and danger. Prom-
inences arc their way back to the Suns
surface, and when they snap, they release
coronal mass ejection. Spaceweather relies
heavily on it.
This is a remarkable coincidence having
the size of the Moon and Sun almost the
same is the magic behind it. This wouldn
be possible plus or minus a few tens othousands years from now, as the Moon
continues to go farther and farther from
the Earth. And OSole MioOSole Mio
Sta nfronte a te, sta nfronte a te!...Andrea
Bocelli bellows his diaphragm till kingdom
comes/
After 5 minutes, the rst rays of the mighty
Sun leaks out of the Moons edge, and nal
ly the land claims back its glory. The show
is over. Long live this expedition trip!
So what is so exciting about an eclipse anyway? Whats the fuss of being under the
Moons shadow for a few minutes? Nothing
I guess, only my sane part can answer that
and I now know life and God are wonderfu
in many weird ways. I will sleep soundly
and smiling tonight. A dream I have dared
to live to see, and nally, ever worthwhile
SOME OF THE PAS DELEGATES TO THE
2009 CHINA TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSE
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APPULSE
THE
2 Appulse - July 2009
The Appulse is published monthly by the
Philippine Astronomical Society.
TheAppulse 2009. All rights reserved.
Please send articles, letters, observations,
reports to
Email: appulse@philastrosoc.org
or to orion278@yahoo.com
Website: www. philastrosoc.org
editorial Advisr
Edna Azucena
editorial Staff
Victoria Evarretta
Editor-in-Chief
Francis Ferdinand Irlandez
Layout Editor
John Nassr
Joel LinaoVictoria Evarretta
Allen Yu
Francis Ferdinand irlandez
Contributors
by FFSIrlandez
j U N E m E E T I N G r E P O R T
ImagesbyJennyBaltazar
As part of its vision to promote astron-omy education to the Filipino people,the Philippine Astronomical Society visited
and held its June monthly meeting at the
Universidad de Manila, Lawton, Manila
last June 20.
The program started with Mr. Ronald Tanco
who gave an overview lecture of how deep
the subject of Astronomy is. After him, Mr.
Edmund Rosales presented to the students
tips on observational astronomy; the audi-
ence was awed with his simulation of the
upcoming Total Solar Eclipse in China in
July. It was like Edmund took us there to
experience that spectacular event. After the
lectures, the BS Education students were
all very thankful for the fun experienceof PAS meeting. They even requested that
PAS holds a stargazing for them. And PAS
will surely answer their call. Mr. Ian Allas then called the delegates of the Astronomy
Educational Tour in China. They discussed certain things like the design of their shirt
streamers, etc. When all were agreed upon on the China trip, it was Mr. Hernan Dizons
turn to present the qualied members who may run for the Board in the July election. The
meeting ended about 5:00PM.
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A DATE WITH THE STARS
by Victoria Evarretta
These days when the skies are all butclear and there seem to be no let upwith the afternoon and night rains, casual
observing seems impossible.
But I got the break last week of June whenthe usual scorching heat here in Tuguega-
rao took its normal course. The sky was
clear and everything seemed to be a para-
dise astronomically for me. Clear, clear,
clear blue skies in the morning (see pic-
tures) with unbelievably no speck or streak
of clouds at all west, east, north, south. And
the night became the jeweled sky any star-
gazer would hanker to see. Luckily, I felt
no body aches those days; it was thus just
right and perfect condition for a date with
the stars.
I went up the roof deck, pulled out my
Starry Night Guide, my binoculars, sleep-
ing mat, red ashlight, and laser pointer
from the observatory and readied myself
for a two-hour stargazing while lying down
at the cement oor. I told myself that this is
just a night for the constellation hunting as
the constellations presented in the sky from
8:00 to 10 PM. Beyond that time, I begged
off - for the spirit is willing but the esh
is weak, as they say. (This reminded me of
our PAS out-of-town-stargazing sessions in Noveleta, Cavite and once in
Sampaloc, Rizal.)
Our two coconut trees still
block the eastern view, but I
cannot get myself to cut these
down. Doing so would mean
harsh heat and no shady com-
forts and breeze in the morn-
ings. Waiting for the stars until
they are in the zenith or in the
western horizon is good enough
for me.
I like looking northeast because
this has no obstruction in our
roof deck. While southwest has
no obstruction either, the glar-
ing lights from the nearby tennis courts dim
the view of the southern side. It so happen
that the end week of June is also the week
of province-wide festivities here in the City
because the provincial government cel-
ebrates the Aggao Nac Cagayan (literally,
Day of Cagayan).
The sweet music of the
Bee Gees, Cascades, and
the Beatles all-the-more
heightened the beauty ofthe breezy night with fes-
tive atmosphere brought
about by the towns night
activities. Perfect night
indeed for a date with the
stars.
Northeast instantly
showed the Ursa Minor
with its Little Dipper and Polaris. Then
came Cygnus, Cepheus, Draco while Ursa
Major was already girding close to the
western horizon. Up in the zenith are Co-
rona Borealis, Bootes, Hercules, Ophiucus,
Virgo, and Libra. Leo is seen prominently
near the western horizon while Scorpius
and Lupus in the southeast are still taking
their turn going up the zenith.
So whats the big deal with the constella-
tions for me? I guess I like to be fully fa-
miliar with the constellations and the sto-
ries/legends that each tell. This is good for
the kids, and theres still the kid re in me
wanting to know all. I am not into that gear
yet where every night with clear sky is a
night to observe throughout until the sun
rises.
Why didnt I invite friends for more com-
pany? Inviting friends around would mean
a big responsibility for me and would
greatly diminish my enjoyment, for tha
would mean work for me trying to enter-
tain them. In between this constellation
hunting, I liked teasing the groups chattingnear the barangay hall by aiming the laser
pointer with the light show at them. One
kid cried and ran to his mother when I did
so. Ha ha ha.
You noticed that I did not mention the wax
ing crescent moon yet. I did observe that
- its dark lowland plains contrasting the
bright highlands. While I was mentioning
the marias and highlands to our helper who
occasionally came up, he saw instead the
two eyes, nose, and white teeth of the moon
- something I failed to notice
before. He even thought th
moon looked like a skull then
(days after when it was already
the rst quarter. Bending ones
imagination, indeed, it looked
like one. The Mare Serenitatis
Mare Crisium looked like the
moons two eye sockets; and
Mare Tranquillitatis, its nose
Wonder what the supposed
teeth were - I guess they
are the highlands surroundingMare Nectaris (dont think Im
this familiar with the moons
features; Im just looking a
my reference book).
Anyway, come August, I will observe what
ever planets and deep-sky objects will be
observable by then. I hope that I will have
the energy to stay whole night for the ob-
servation.
Note the completely blue sky west of the mini-semi observa-
tory with the early morning shadows from the coconut trees.
Sky completely blue indeed (with the observatory at foreground) that turned
into a jeweled cloudless sky at night. The big space in front of the observatory
is where I usually stargaze.
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Continued on page 5
G R E E T I N G S F R O M D U B A I !
4 Appulse - July 2009
Its really been a long time since I lastparticipated in the forum discussions, butI assure you that Ive been lurking around
for quite a while now, just listening in on
the latest news, events, and general chika-
chika in our beloved PAS. Reading your
posts really livens up my otherwise bland
day here in the ofce. It feels so good to
hear about your monthly meeting sessions,
observation programs, and other activi-
ties...most of the time, I just pretend that
Im also there, enjoying the dark skies of
the Philippines with you guys. Im happy
to see that there are lots of discussions on
different topics taking place, and that peo-
ple are actively participating.
So hows everyone? Hows the PAS gang?Brother Dennis, Brother Leo, Sis Mitz, Sis
Nelli? Whats up with you, guys? I heard
recently that Allen has rejoined PAS...wel-
come back, man! Sir Milo, Sir Hernan, Ate
Agnes, Ate Edna, Kuya Berns, the Wonder
Kids --- Leo Minor, Jane, et al --- and eve-
ryone else that Ive had the opportunity to
rub shoulders with when I was still in the
Philippines...kumusta na kayong lahat? I
miss you all so much! I really need to do
a lot of catching up; for the past few years,
Ive always tried to make it a point to visit
you guys whenever Im on vacation in thePhilippines, but my personal commitments
just wont allow me to spare some time,
even for just a few hours. Thats how my
vacations are. Theyre hardly relaxing. I
think Brother Dennis knows about that al-
ready. But I hope to set things right on my
next annual vacation, because I really want
to meet up with all of you again, and may-
be catch a few planets and constellations
while Im there. I also want to nally meet
Ate Vicky...lagi na lang po napo-postpone
ang pagkikita natin, maam! And Mr. John
Nassr...sir, champion ang mga astropho-tos mo! Very inspiring, breathtaking, and
mind-expanding talaga sila! I hope Ill get
the chance to personally shake your hand,
and maybe visit Stardust Observatory, in
the near future!
Well, as for me, I cant really share any-
thing with regard to urban observations,
since the only celestial bodies that I can see
from my ats balcony are the Sun, Moon,
the brighter planets like Venus and Jupi-
ter, a handful of bright
stars like Sirius, and the
Big Dipper asterism in
Ursa Major. Quite pa-
thetic, isnt it? Too bad
that Im in a part of the
world where the nights
are --- at least within the
city limits --- an astrono-
mers worst nightmare.
On any given night, the
sky above my at glows
with an eerie orange hue
so bright that one would
think that twilight just
set in...at midnight. Liv-
ing just a few kilometers
away from one of theworlds most busiest airports also doesnt
help much. The rural desert skies are a
completely different story altogether, but I
dont really get to go camping in the boo-
nies that much anymore since Im virtually
bogged down with ofce work for much of
the week. Until recently, I used to drive into
the desert in the wee hours of the morning
just to escape the glare of Dubai, armed
only with a pair of binoculars, my old
starmap, and a red LED ashlight. Those
nights were truly unforgettable, not just be-
cause of the fact that the Milky Way wasso bright in the middle of the desert that I
could see the dark knots of obscuring dust
within it without using averted vision, but
also due to the exciting, funny, and scary
experiences that Ive had as I tried to look
for dark skies farther and farther away from
the city limits. Ive had my fair share of hits
and misses because of my penchant for get-
ting into sticky situations just so I can get
my astronomy x. Come on, guys, lets ad-
mit it...were all addicted to the stars!
For instance, there was this time when Iwas all alone in the desert about 60-70 kil-
ometers away from Dubai, and everything
was pitch black...it was so dark that when-
ever I activated my watchs light function
so I could see what time it was, I would
get temporarily blinded for a few short sec-
onds. It was also very quiet, and it was a
spooky sort of silence, the kind that you
only get to experience in the movies just
before some hideous thing hiding in the
bushes suddenly snatches the scantily-clad
heroine away and rips her guts out. Thatshow creepy it was. From somewhere in the
dark, I hear a few short snorts a few meter
away, and I suddenly jump into my car for
fear of being eaten by some unseen mon-
ster. I turn on my headlights and I see...a
small group of wild donkeys blinking in
the harsh glare of my headlights while la-
zily grazing away. Then there was this time
when I was in a different patch of deser
near the border with Oman about 150 kil-
ometers away from Dubai. Unlike before
it wasnt completely dark because it was
almost 5:30 in the morning, and the easternhorizon was already awash in hues of blue
rose, and orange. It was wintertime, and
beautiful Venus oated serenely to the east
I sighed to myself, Ahhh...what a nice
end to a perfect evening of observation...
I was sipping from a cup of hot chocolate
and I already felt chilled to the bone so I
was about to pack up for the evening when
from out of nowhere, a loud boom tha
sounded like something exploded nearby
shattered the silence of the early morning
sky, followed closely by two slightly lesser
booms. Shortly afterwards came a persistent deep rumbling that sounded like rolling
thunder, with vibrations so intense that I fel
them deep inside my chest. I looked around
me in disbelief; seeing nothing out of the
ordinary, my eyes were drawn reexively
to the skies. And then I saw them! To the
northeast and relatively close but climbing
swiftly at almost the speed of sound were
the bright glows of engine exhaust pipes
by Joel Linao
8/14/2019 Philippine Astronomical Society - July 2009 Appulse issue
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on full afterburner --- the aircraft spotter
in me kicks in, and I spy an American B-1
bomber and two unidentied F-16 ghter
aircraft (most likely from the US Air Force,
as well) escorting it. Ive just been buzzed
by UAE-based American military aircraft
at a height of less that 150 feet, in the mid-
dle of winter while in some desert near theOmani border, while enjoying a cup of hot
chocolate! It doesnt get any stranger that
that! I could still smell the aviation-grade
kerosene hanging in the air long after they
disappeared into the morning sky. Talk
about closing an uneventful night of ob-
servation with a bang. Or rather a boom.
Or three booms. Later that week, due to
extreme curiosity, I found out that Ameri-
can and UAE military aircraft based at an
aireld near the UAE capital city of Abu
Dhabi were conducting a month-long joint
military exercise near the patch of desertthat I chose for my quiet night of stargaz-
ing, and that they were using laser targeting
systems to simulate attacks on random tar-
gets instead of using actual bombs. I have
a weird feeling that my car became one of
their unwilling targets during their train-
ing maneuvers. Hmmm...
Anyway, Ive still got a lot of stories to tell
about my astronomy adventures here in the
UAE, stories that have accumulated for the
past ve years. Theres this story involving
the border police, another story about a car
stuck in the sand until noontime, and yet
another story about a crazy Indian build-
ing watchman who mistook a telescope
for a cannon, among other stories. But
those stories will be for a different time,
when Im no longer swimming neck-deep
in ofce paperwork (when would that be,
Brother Dennis is probably asking himself
right now...hehe). As for now, Im cutting
this post short because its starting to be-
come a short novel. I would just like to say
that it really, really feels good to be nallyposting something in our forum again after
an absence of almost four years. From this
point in time onwards, I dont think I can
afford to sit by the sidelines any longer...its
time to jump in once more. Active Mode:
ON!
Mabuhay ang astronomiya sa Pilipinas!
Long live the Philippine Astronomical So-
ciety!
Greetings.. from page 4July - August Meteor Shower Watch
Meteors, also called falling or shootingstars, occur when the Earth passesthrough debris elds left by passing com-
ets. What we are witnessing when we see a
shooting star is a small piece of interplan-
etary matter, called a meteor, entering the
Earths atmosphere and burning up at aheight of about 100 km. While most look
white, some can appear blue, green, yellow,
orange, or red. Some may even explode at
the end of its visible ight. Most showers
produce about 20 or more meteors per hour
, but there are showers which can produce
hundreds of meteors in less than an hour.
Such shows are, unfortunately, very rare.
Meteor showers are named after the radiant
- the constellation from which they appear
to radiate.
DELTA AQUARIDS
This shower favors the southern hemi-
sphere (Southern Delta Aquarids) and the
tropical latitudes in the northern hemi-
sphere (Northern Delta Aquarids). From
northern temperate latitudes, the maximum
hourly rate may reach 15-20 meteors. Like
most meteor showers, the best observing
time for this shower is before dawn. Unlike
most meteor showers, the Delta Aquarids
does not have a very denite peak, despite
the date given below. Instead, these me-dium-speed meteors ramble along fairly
steadily throughout late July and early Au-
gust. The waxing gibbous moon around the
peak of the Delta Aquarids wont really
tarnish the luster of these fainter than av-
erage meteors, because the shower is best
in the wee hours before dawn. An hour or
two before dawn presents the most favo-
rable view of the Delta Aquarids. Because
the peak of the Delta Aquarid shower is so
broad, the expected meteor rates (15-20 per
hour) may be about the same from July 28-
30. The meteors will appear to radiate fromthe southern part of the sky. Peak date: July
28. Radiant: Constellation Aquarius.
ALPHA CAPRICORNIDS
The Capricornids are characterized by their
often yellow coloration and their frequent
brightness. They are also slow interplan-
etary interlopers, hitting our atmosphere at
around 15 miles per second. Though you
can expect only 15 meteors per hour at best
under dark sky conditions, the Capricornid
are noted for producing brilliant reballs.
The duration of this shower extends from
July 15 to September 11. The shower
has the reputation of producing some of
the brightest meteors. The Alpha Capricornid meteor shower occurs every year
from about July 15 to September 11. The
showers maximum is usually July 31 and
August 1. The maximum rate is about ten
meteors per hour. Astronomers have no
identied the object responsible for pro
ducing the Alpha Capricornids. Since 1953
at least three comets and one asteroid have
been suggested, but none perfectly ts the
orbit of the meteor stream that causes the
shower.
PERSEIDS
Like a messy
tourist, the
comet Swift-
Tuttle passed
through our
solar system
in 1992 (as it
did in 1863)
leaving behind
its trash: tiny
grains of ice,dust, rock, and other debris. As the Earth
makes its trip around the sun, we pass
through this debris eld with some spectac
ular results - the Perseid meteor shower..
The Perseids is the most reliable and stil
very spectacular as they create 50 to 150
meteors an hour on average, and increas-
ing at times as high as 400 an hour. It can
be a most spectacular display. The Perseid
meteor shower is named after the constella
tion Perseus (located near Cassiopea) from
which it rst appeared to have come.
These typically fast and bright meteors ra
diate from a point in the constellation Per-
seus, and like all meteors in annual show-
ers, they cover a large part of the sky. The
Perseids are considered by many people to
be the years best shower when the moon
is out of the way during the showers peak
Unfortunately, this years moon is not to-
Continued on page 6
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6/86 Appulse - May 20096 Appulse - July 2009
July - August... from page 5
tally out of the way during the Perseids.
The slightly waning gibbous moon rises
around midnight just as the Perseids start
to pick up steam. Nonetheless, you should
be able to catch some Perseid meteors be-
fore moonrise and even after. The Perseids
tend to strengthen in number as midnight
ebbs toward dawn. Although not a favora-ble year, these meteors are often bright and
frequently leave persistent trains. From
late night on Tuesday August 11 till dawn
on Wednesday August 12, a decent sprin-
kling of Perseid meteors may adorn this
summer night, despite the pesky moon. Lie
back and watch meteors until dawns light
washes the stars, moon, and planets from
the sky. Peak date: August 12
Sources: Earth Sky, and Skyscrapers, Inc., Total Es-
cape, About.com
AstronotesThank you for the latest issue of Appulse
which I enjoyed a lot as usual. I found the
introduction of the editorial staff especially
timely and well presented. I commend and
salute the editorial staff because without
all of you, the Appulse would simply not bepossible!
John Nassr
Stardust Observatory
Baguio City
I saw your design in the May Appulse 2009(the paper was very well prepared!).
Dr. Jesus TorresRizal Technology UniversityMandaluyong City
WATCH :
THE UNIVERSE
(NEW SEASON)
AT THE HISTORY CHANNEL
EVERY MONDAY AT 9 PM!!!
ASTROPHOTOGRAPHYby John Nassr
Date Imaged : Ju ly 6 - 7 , 2009
Lens: Ast rophysics 5 f /8 S tar f i re
Camera: Dragonf ly 2
E xposure : 15 seconds
Fi l ter : Ha, Baader Herschel Wedge
Mount : AP600
Locat ion: S tardus t Observatory
AR 1024 through a hydrogen alpha lter showing the sunspot
on the outer solar chromosphere
AR 1024 in white light taken through a Herschel wedge show-
ing the sunspot in the lower solar photosphere region
8/14/2019 Philippine Astronomical Society - July 2009 Appulse issue
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Astronomy Update
Source of CosmicRays Pinned Down
By Clara Moskowitz
Staff Writer
posted: 25 June 2009
02:18 pm ET
As astronomers have long expected,exploding stars called supernovascan accelerate particles up to almost the
speed of light, a new study shows.
The discovery helps explain where theextremely energetic cosmic rays we nd
near Earth come from.
Cosmic rays are charged particles, most-
ly protons, that come swooping through
space from beyond the solar system.
They carry such an energetic punch they
can knock out electronics systems on
Earth if they manage to make it past our
atmosphere.
Until now, scientists couldnt be sure
how cosmic rays acquire their energy
and speed.
It has long been thought that the super-
accelerators that produce these cosmic
rays in the Milky Way are the expanding
envelopes created by exploded stars, but
our observations reveal the smoking gun
that proves it, said Eveline Helder of the
Astronomical Institute Utrecht of Utrecht
University in the Netherlands, leader of the
new study.
When a star dies in a supernova, the blast
releases a huge amount of energy. Muchof that energy is used to heat up a bubble
of gas that expands around the remnant of
the star. Some energy, though, goes toward
speeding up the particles that become cos-
mic rays, the researchers determined.
When a star explodes in what we call a
supernova a large part of the explosion en-
ergy is used for accelerating some particles
up to extremely high energies, Helder
said. The energy that is used for particle
acceleration is at the expense of heating the
gas, which is therefore much colder than
theory predicts.
Helder and team looked at the leftovers
from a supernova called RCW 86 with theEuropean Southern Observatorys Very
Large Telescope. The star exploded about
8200 light-years away in AD 185, and was
recorded by Chinese astronomers.
The modern researchers measured the tem-
perature and speed of the gas behind the
shock wave created by the stellar explo-
sion. They found that the gas, at 54 million
degrees Fahrenheit (30 million degrees
Celsius), was much lower than would be
Cosmic rays originate in supernova, like the one that created this rem-
nant, Cassiopeia A, photographed by the Chandra X-ray observatory.
Credit: NASA/CXC/MIT/UMass Amherst/M.D.Stage et al
expected given the shock waves velocity.
Rather than heat up the gas, some of the
supernovas energy went toward speeding
up particles to near the velocity of light, the
astronomers concluded.
The missing energy is what drives thecosmic rays, said collaborator Jacco
Vink, also from the Astronomical Institute
Utrecht.
Helder and team describe their ndings in
the June 26 issue of the journal Science.
http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/090625-cos
mic-accelerator.html
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