APOD: 2023 December 5 Б Energetic Particle Strikes the Earth
Explanation:
It was one of the most energetic particles ever known to strike the Earth -- but
where did it come from?
Dubbed
Amaterasu after the
Shinto
sun goddess, this particle,
as do all
cosmic rays that strike the
Earth's atmosphere, caused an
air shower
of electrons, protons, and other
elementary particles to spray down onto the Earth below.
In the featured illustration, a cosmic ray
air shower is pictured striking the
Telescope Array in
Utah,
USA,
which recorded the
Amaterasu event in 2021 May.
Cosmic ray air showers are common enough that you likely have been in a
particle spray yourself,
although you likely wouldn't have noticed.
The origin of this energetic particle, likely the
nucleus of an atom, remains a
mystery in two ways.
First, it is
not known how any single particle or atomic nucleus can practically acquire
so much energy, and
second, attempts to trace the particle back to
where it originated did not indicate any likely potential source.
Open Science:
Browse 3,200+ codes in the Astrophysics Source Code Library
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
