Scientists Observe <br />Supernova Explosion , That Pushed Particles , to Cosmic Speed Limit.<br />Scientists have observed a burned-out stellar <br />core produce a shockwave that propelled particles <br />at the boundary of their theoretical speed limit. .<br />Space.com reports that astronomers utilized the <br />gamma-ray observatory in Namibia called the High <br />Energy Stereoscopic System, otherwise known as HESS. .<br />Observations were based on <br />a two-star system known as Ophiuchi.<br />The binary system consists <br />of a white dwarf paired <br />with a red giant. .<br />The white dwarf is the stellar remains <br />of a dead star that is roughly the size of Earth. .<br />The red giant is <br />a dying star that <br />long ago resembled <br />our own sun. .<br />The white dwarf draws matter off <br />of the red giant until it has absorbed enough <br />to generate a massive supernova explosion. .<br />When the nova exploded in August 2021, <br />the HESS telescopes allowed us to observe <br />a galactic explosion in very-high-energy <br />gamma rays for the first time, Alison Mitchell, principal investigator and researcher at Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, via Space.com.<br />Particles from the latest supernova <br />explosion reached the maximum speed <br />predicted in theoretical models. .<br />The observation that the theoretical <br />limit for particle acceleration can actually <br />be reached in genuine cosmic shock waves <br />has enormous implications for astrophysics, Ruslan Konno, study co-author and a doctoral candidate <br />at Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron, via Space.com.<br />It suggests that the acceleration process <br />could be just as efficient in their much <br />more extreme relatives, supernovas, Ruslan Konno, study co-author and a doctoral candidate <br />at Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron, via Space.com.<br />It suggests that the acceleration process <br />could be just as efficient in their much <br />more extreme relatives, supernovas, Ruslan Konno, study co-author and a doctoral candidate <br />at Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron, via Space.com
