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News Release 05-119

Geologists Use Particles from Galaxy's Far Reaches to Understand Processes at Earth's Surface

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Supernovae give off blasts of cosmic rays that bombard the Earth and change its surface rocks.

Supernovae such as this one, named SN 1993J, give off blasts of cosmic rays that bombard the Earth and change the atomic make up of its surface rock. Researchers supported by the international CRONUS project will measure the effects of cosmic rays to determine the timing of ancient geologic events. The color scale represents the brightness of the radio emission detected by very large array radiotelescopes. Blue depicts the faintest emission; red depicts brightest.

Credit: Image courtesy of NRAO/AUI and N. Bartel, M. Bietenholz, M. Rupen, et al.

 

Scientists in the CRONUS project are using cosmic rays to study geology on Earth.

Scientists in the CRONUS project are using cosmic rays to study geology on Earth.

Credit: CRONUS

 

European scientists are also particpating in the CRONUS project.

European scientists are also particpating in the CRONUS project.

Credit: CRONUS--Europe