Are low energy cosmic rays produced inside our galaxy, the Milky Way?
We think this may be true. We know that very low energy cosmic rays are produced by the sun. We believe, however, that the vast majority of cosmic rays come from outside the solar system. Results from the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory satellite tell us information about the distribution of gamma rays (very high energy photons) in the sky. We expect that gamma rays are produced when cosmic rays interact with the diffuse gas in our galaxy, the Milky Way. The satellite data show that the intensity of these gamma rays falls off with increasing distance from the galactic center. This would happen if lower energy cosmic rays were produced in the central bulge of the galaxy. Exploding stars, called supernovae, may be responsible for producing many of the cosmic rays within our galaxy.
