Unknown Source of Distant Gamma Rays Detected

An international team of astronomers working with the Major Atmospheric Gamma-ray Imaging Cherenkov (MAGIC) telescope have detected very high energy gamma rays originating from two distant galaxies with unknown sources.

Scanning the galaxies 3C 66A and 3C 66B, the MAGIC telescope spent 50 hours analyzing a very strong source of gamma rays of over 150 billion eV. Gamma rays are significant because they are associated with violent astrophysical phenomena such as supernovae or black holes. The location and strength of this gamma ray signal, designated MAGIC J0223+430, does not correspond with bodies believed to exist in either of these galaxies.

Possibilities for such a signal range from unknown characteristics of the quasar 3C 66A, a celestial object known for being a strong source of radiation; that the source is actually located in galaxy 3C66B, a much closer origin and one with a source that is not directly aligned at Earth; or a previously undiscovered stellar phenomenon yet to be explained.

These results were published in the latest edition of Astrophysical Journal Letters.

Source: ScienceDaily