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Messengers From The Extreme Universe
Malargue, Argentina (SPX) Nov 11, 2005 A unique observatory in a remote location in Argentina is starting to unravel the mysteries of High Energy Cosmic Rays. There is no scientific consensus on the source of these particles which the shower the Earth at energies 10 million times higher than can be produced in particle accelerators! But the Pierre Auger Observatory is shedding new light on these energetic particles from space and using them as messengers to tell us more about the wider Universe. Scientists of the Pierre Auger Observatory will hold a celebration in Malargue, Argentina, from 9 November to 11 November 2005, to mark the progress of the Observatory and the presentation of the first physics results. To witness these extremely rare events, the observatory is constructing an array of 1600 detectors spread over 3000 square kilometres (an area roughly the size of Cambridgeshire in the UK) in Argentina's Mendoza Province, just east of the Andes Mountains. Each of these "Cherenkov" detectors contains 3000 gallons of water and detects the electromagnetic 'shock waves' as the particles pass through. Surrounding the array is a set of 24 telescopes which, on clear moonless nights, observe the ultraviolet fluorescence light produced as cosmic ray shower particles travel through the atmosphere. "These highest-energy cosmic rays are messengers from the extreme universe," said Nobel Prize winner Jim Cronin, of the University of Chicago, who conceived the Auger experiment together with Alan Watson of the University of Leeds. "They represent a great opportunity for discoveries." Watson added: "How does nature create the conditions to accelerate a tiny particle to such an energy? Tracking these ultrahigh-energy particles back to their sources will answer that question." The observatory has been collecting data since the first parts of the array were completed. The first physics results from the Pierre Auger Observatory include a new cosmic ray spectrum at the highest energies, the results of anisotropy and point source searches, and new limits on the photon content of the primaries that address a number of theories about exotic theories of cosmic ray origin. The significance of the results:
"Once more science stands at the threshold of resolving a fundamental question that has so far eluded mankind - the source of high energy cosmic rays," the Chief Executive of the UK's Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council [PPARC], Prof. Keith Mason. "And I look forward with great interest to Auger's quest to unravel one of Nature's most intriguing mysteries." Commenting on the experiment's progress, Prof. Keith Mason added: "The Pierre Auger Observatory is a remarkable example of international collaboration and I am particularly proud that the UK was involved at its inception and that our scientists continue to play a key role in this project." While a northern hemisphere site has not yet been funded, the collaboration is working to establish a northern hemisphere partner of the southern observatory, likely to be based in southeastern Colorado in the US. With observatories in both hemispheres, the Auger collaboration will have the opportunity to view the entire universe from every direction.
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Young Stars Sculpt Gas With Powerful Outflows Harvard MA (SPX) Nov 11, 2005 This Hubble Space Telescope view shows one of the most dynamic and intricately detailed star-forming regions in space, located 210 000 light-years away in the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC), a satellite galaxy of our Milky Way. |
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