ESA Science & Technology - A New Population of Very High Energy Gamma-Ray Sources in the Milky Way

Publication date: 25 March 2005

Authors: Aharonian, F. et al.

Journal: Science
Volume: 307
Issue: 5717
Page: 1938-1942
Year: 2007

Copyright: Science

Very high energy gamma-rays probe the long-standing mystery of the origin of cosmic rays. Produced in the interactions of accelerated particles in astrophysical objects, they can be used to image cosmic particle accelerators. A first sensitive survey of the inner part of the Milky Way with the High Energy Stereoscopic System (HESS) reveals a population of eight previously unknown firmly detected sources of very high energy gamma-rays. At least two have no known radio or x-ray counterpart and may be representative of a new class of "dark" nucleonic cosmic ray sources.