Starbursts and Seyferts: The Mystery of the Missing Gamma Rays
Published: March 30, 2026
Duration: 22:39
In this episode, we dive deep into the fascinating world of "composite" galaxies—cosmic beasts that host both an actively feeding supermassive black hole (a Seyfert nucleus) and regions of intense star formation (a starburst component).
We explore recent research from the High Energy Stereoscopic System (H.E.S.S.) observatory, which conducted deep observations of three nearby composite galaxies: NGC 1068, the Circinus galaxy, and NGC 4945. The big question driving the research: Can we detect very high-energy (VHE) gamma rays from the extreme environments at the centers of these galaxies?
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