Explanation:
Colorful
star trails
arc across the night in this
surreal timelapse
skyscape from the Roque de los Muchachos
Observatory on the Canary island of La Palma.
A reflection
of the Earth's daily rotation on its axis,
the star trails are also reflected in one of a pair of
17 meter diameter, multi-mirrored
MAGIC telescopes.
The MAGIC (Major Atmospheric Gamma Imaging Cherenkov)
telescope itself
is intended to detect gamma rays -
photons with over 100 billion times the energy of visible light.
As the high energy gamma rays impact the upper atmosphere they produce
air showers of high-energy particles.
A fast camera monitoring the multi-mirrored surface records
in detail brief flashes of optical light, called
Cherenkov
light, created by the air shower particles
Astronomers can then ultimately relate the optical flashes to
cosmic sources
of extreme gamma-rays.
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