Our planet is roasted by the cosmic rays of this binary star system at just 10,000 light-years

For years, Earth has been bombarded by cosmic rays emanating from a mysterious source that astronomers could not identify. Now, new research conducted with the help of NASA's NuSTAR Space Telescope has finally traced the source of these rays: Eta Carinae, a system of binary stars just 10,000 light-years away. In an event called the Great Eruption of 1838, the system created an astonishing hourglass nebula in a huge explosion of energy that temporarily made it the second brightest object in the night sky.

According to Fiona Harrison, principal investigator of NuSTAR: "We have known for some time that the area around Eta Carinae is the source of energy emission in X-rays and high energy gamma rays, but until NuSTAR is able to identify the radiation, show that it comes from the binary and study its properties in detail, the origin was mysterious. "

The powerful cosmic rays is caused, in part, by two stellar wind currents colliding as they whirl around twin stars. These winds then create shock waves that enhance the strength of the X-rays and gamma rays emitted. According to Kenji Hamaguchi of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center: "We know that the explosive waves of exploded stars can accelerate cosmic ray particles at speeds comparable to those of light, an incredible increase in energy. The discovery of the source of these cosmic rays helps astronomers understand a little more about Eta Carinae, which is still a mystery: scientists have no idea what caused its famous "eruption" in the world. Eta Carinae. 1838 which, in any case, should have resulted in a supernova

Although the Earth's magnetosphere keeps us away from (most) radiation, cosmic rays could actually increase around our planet. This makes space travel more lethal than it already is. And if the amount of radiation continues to increase, we could discover the limits of our atmosphere the hard way.