Cosmic ray mystery may have been solved – they come from another galaxy

‘Scientists studying the origin of cosmic rays that bombard the Earth from the heavens have been perplexed for half a century. Now they may finally have an answer – and it’s intergalactic.
The mysterious high-energy rays are radiation consisting of protons and the nuclei of atoms such as hydrogen and iron. It’s also quite rare for them to reach Earth, even traveling at just under the speed of light.
So rare are they, that only about one per square kilometer per year strikes our planet, and as such, a giant observatory is needed to detect them. That’s where the Pierre Auger Observatory comes in.
The collaboration of over 400 scientists from 18 countries centers around the observatory, the largest cosmic ray detector ever built. The massive complex in Argentina covers an area of 3,000 square km and houses an impressive 1,600 detectors that spot the rays when they hit the atmosphere.’
Read more: Cosmic ray mystery may have been solved – they come from another galaxy