Summary
In the Pyrénées Orientales region, the old solar power station Thémis used a heliostat field made out of 200 mirrors, each 50 square meters in size. Astrophysicists were able to reuse these mirrors to observe cosmic gamma rays, the most high-energy particles in the universe. These rays emit luminous flashes which are collected by the mirrors and directed toward the CELESTE detector. In this way researchers hope to be able to reach a better understanding of the mechanisms of energy production at the centers of galaxies.
