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There's a Particle Accelerator at the Center of the Milky Way


Astronomers have detected ultra-high-energy gamma rays coming from the center of the Milky Way, with nearly 100 events of more than 100 teraelectron volts of energy. Researchers aren't sure what's generating so many of these extreme events, but it's where the Milky Way's supermassive black hole, which is surrounded by neutron stars and white dwarfs that strip material from nearby stars, is located. And all of this is surrounded by dense gas reaching millions of degrees.

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