The second most energetic cosmic ray ever found was detected by the Telescope Array experiment in Utah on May 27, 2021. The cosmic ray, named “Amaterasu,” measured 244 exaelectronvolts (EeV). This is equivalent to the energy of a tennis ball moving at nearly 100 kilometers per hour, squeezed into an atomic-sized object. 

The Telescope Array experiment covers 700 square kilometers in Utah’s West Desert. The cosmic ray was named after the Shinto sun goddess who is said to have been instrumental in the creation of Japan. 

The origin of these ultra-high energy cosmic rays is a mystery. Researchers have not yet been able to determine where they come from or how they travel to Earth

This most recent detection is the second highest-energy cosmic ray ever detected and was detected in May 2021. This single proton had as much energy as dropping a brick on your foot from waist height: 240 exa–electron volts

The most powerful cosmic ray ever detected is the Oh-My-God particle. It was discovered in 1991 by the Fly’s Eye camera in Dugway Proving Ground, Utah. The particle’s energy was estimated to be 320 million TeV.

Cosmic rays are thought to be produced by exotic astrophysical events, such as supermassive black holes or gamma ray bursts. 

The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) carries a detector called the Cosmic Ray Telescope for the Effects of Radiation (CRaTER). CRaTER uses solid-state detectors made from silicon to detect cosmic rays.

Light travels faster than cosmic rays: 

• Light Travels at a constant speed of 186,000 miles per second. This is the speed limit for conventional matter and energy in the universe. 
• Cosmic rays Travel at nearly the speed of light. The speed of cosmic ray particles depends on the process that causes them to flow in space. For example, particles in the solar wind travel at around 400 kilometers per second. 

Cosmic rays are high-energy particles or clusters of particles that provide one of the few direct samples of matter from outside the solar system.

Yes, gamma rays are a type of cosmic ray.  Cosmic rays are high-energy particles that come from outside Earth.  They can be made up of many types of particles, including: Photons (gamma rays, Electrons, Protons, Nuclei, Neutrinos. 

Gamma rays are a type of electromagnetic radiation with short wavelengths and high energy. They are produced when cosmic rays interact with radiation fields and interstellar matter in galaxies. 

Gamma rays are not deflected by magnetic fields, so they can provide information about the most powerful particle accelerators in the universe. Gamma-ray astronomy uses gamma rays to study the cosmos. 

However, cosmic gamma rays are absorbed by the atmosphere. To observe cosmic gamma rays, gamma ray observatories are placed in space.

Cosmic rays are high-energy particles that come from space. They can be made up of many types of particles, including: 

• Protons: Positively charged particles 
• Electrons: Negatively charged particles 
• Atomic nuclei: Larger atomic nuclei 
• Alpha particles: Charged particles 
• HZE ions: High-mass, high-charged particles 

Some examples of cosmic rays include: 

• Solar energetic particles: High-energy particles emitted by the sun, primarily in solar eruptions 
• Galactic cosmic rays: Atom fragments such as protons, electrons, and atomic nuclei 
• Extragalactic cosmic rays: High-energy particles originating outside the solar system 
• Primary cosmic rays: High-energy particles from outer space that continually bombard the Earth 

Cosmic rays can also be produced by: Supernova explosions, Black holes, Other galaxies. 

The cosmic ray named “Amaterasu” is an ultra-high-energy particle. It was detected in 2021 and identified in 2023 by the Telescope Array Project observatory in Utah. 

The particle was named after the Japanese sun goddess. It’s one of the most powerful cosmic rays ever detected, with an energy exceeding 240 exa-electron volts (EeV). It’s believed to have originated from beyond the Milky Way galaxy. 

Scientists don’t know what caused the particle or where it came from. The presence of stronger magnetic fields than previously thought could explain it. 

Cosmic rays are high-energy particles from outer space. They’re mainly made up of protons, nuclei of hydrogen, the lightest and most common element in the universe. They also include nuclei of helium and heavier nuclei, all the way up to uranium

The term “cosmic rays” was coined in 1926 by American scientist Robert Millikan. He named them “cosmic” because they come from space, and “rays” because it was thought that they were mostly made up of gamma rays.  Millikan took measurements of ionization from cosmic rays around the world, from deep underwater to high altitudes. He believed that his measurements showed that the primary cosmic rays were gamma rays. 

Victor Hess, an Austrian-American physicist, discovered cosmic rays in 1912. Hess and two assistants flew in a balloon to an altitude of 16,000 ft. He noticed that an electroscope discharged more quickly as he ascended, which he attributed to radiation entering the atmosphere from above. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1936 for his discovery( full article source google)

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