HESS gamma ray telescope. Technician standing on a gantry next to a telescope in the HESS (High Energy Stereoscopic System) array, located in Namibia.
HESS gamma ray telescope. Technician standing on a gantry next to a telescope in the HESS (High Energy Stereoscopic System) array, located in Namibia. This array uses four of these Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov Telescopes (IACTs), which detect the flashes of Cherenkov radiation produced as high-energy gamma rays and cosmic rays hit the Earth's atmosphere. The HESS array is used to investigate gamma ray sources such as supernova remnants and pulsars. The telescopes use hundreds of mirrors (round), each 60 centimetres in diameter and made of aluminised glass with a silica coating. The HESS array has been operational since December 2003. Photographed in January 2006
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Photo credit: © PHILIPPE PLAILLY/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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