High energy cosmic-ray
neutrinos graze the Moon from behind. In the lunar soil charged particles,
created by interactions between atoms in the soil and the neutrino,
can actually move faster than light in the soil. This causes the particles
to emit Cerenkov radiation in the microwave portion of the electromagnetic
spectrum. Cascades of this radiation can be detected with radio telescopes
on Earth.
Reported by:
Saltzberg et
al., Physical Review Letters, 26 March 2001
Associated
Physics News Update
Back
to Physics News Graphics
