Tag: cosmic rays
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Planck: news from the infant Universe
For cosmology-lovers like me, yesterday was a full, busy day. The Planck telescope released its first full set of data, refining the estimates of the age of the Universe and its contents. I wrote two big pieces, one for Ars Technica and one for Galileo’s Pendulum. First Planck results: the Universe is still weird and…
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Procrastination and protons
Double X Science chemistry editor Adrienne Roehrich started a new podcast series, discussing stories of the week. Her first cohost was…me! We talked about important women in biochemistry, the size of protons, the science of procrastination, and cosmic rays—all in 15 minutes. You can download the podcast from the Double X site, or subscribe through…
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High-energy cosmic rays are sped on their way by exploding stars
Where do cosmic rays originate? Cosmic rays are mostly high-energy protons from deep space that hit Earth’s upper atmosphere, creating showers of other particles that can be detected at the surface. Some of these protons are so incredibly high energy—meaning they’re moving just a whisker slower than the speed of light—that only exceptional astronomical events…