Cosmic gamma rays are difficult to detect for at least two reasons: (1) there are not many of them compared to other things that “look” like cosmic gamma rays to a detector, but aren’t; and (2) they have so much energy that it is hard to “capture” one at all!

Although Marvel retconned the Hulk to be immortal, it does not prohibit him from being able to die, or at least be killed.

The first is an alpha particle. These particles consist of two protons and two neutrons and are the heaviest type of radiation particle. Many of the naturally occurring radioactive materials in the earth, like uranium and thorium, emit alpha particles.

They are produced by the hottest and most energetic objects in the universe, such as neutron stars and pulsars, supernova explosions, and regions around black holes. On Earth, gamma waves are generated by nuclear explosions, lightning, and the less dramatic activity of radioactive decay.

Though no light can escape from a black hole itself, we can detect when matter is pulled into a black hole. As the matter falls toward the black hole, it gains energy and heats up, emitting ultraviolet light, X-rays, and gamma rays. When it does this, a bright ultraviolet flare is sometimes emitted.

Astronomers have spotted a cosmic blast that dwarfs all others. A gargantuan explosion tore through the heart of a distant galaxy cluster, releasing about five times more energy than the previous record holder, a new study reports.

Although nearby GRBs hitting Earth with a destructive shower of gamma rays are only hypothetical events, high energy processes across the galaxy have been observed to affect the Earth’s atmosphere.

Gamma-rays have the smallest wavelengths and the most energy of any other wave in the electromagnetic spectrum. These waves are generated by radioactive atoms and in nuclear explosions. Gamma-rays can kill living cells, a fact which medicine uses to its advantage, using gamma-rays to kill cancerous cells.