Physicists zoom into the birth of cosmic rainstorms with new CERN study

Scientists recreated cosmic rays in a massive underground particle collider.

By: Jesse Liu, New York University, The Conversation

Outlets: The Conversation

Published: September 14, 2026

Words: 1,080

Last Updated: 1 month ago

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By Jesse Liu, New York University

Every second, particles zip through your body at nearly the speed of light. They rain down from a storm high in the sky, where cosmic rays, a powerful type of interstellar matter, are constantly striking atoms in Earth’s atmosphere. The impacts break them apart into a shower of particles that rain to the ground.

Scientists have studied these cosmic rainstorms for over a century, but they lack …

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