Pushing stargazing to the limits with the world's largest gamma-ray observatory

To discover the secrets of exploding stars or black holes, scientists have been focusing on the gamma rays they emit. However, gamma rays don't pass through the Earth's atmosphere, making them difficult to study. To find what high-energy process a gamma ray originates from, scientists have been observing the cascades of secondary particles produced when these rays hit the atmosphere. The cascades--which create blue flashes of light called Cherenkov light after the Russian physicist who discovere...