ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Very-high-energy gamma ray

Imagine you are playing a game of tag outside on a bright sunny day, and you see a friend running towards you from far away, waving their arms excitedly. At some point, they get so close that you can see the details on their face and what they are wearing.

Now, imagine that instead of your friend, it's a tiny particle called a photon that's traveling very, very fast towards you. This photon is a type of energy that makes up light and other forms of electromagnetic radiation.

Usually, photons have a certain amount of energy that determines what type of light they are - like red, blue, or green. But there are some photons called gamma rays that have a LOT of energy.

These high-energy gamma rays are like the Olympic athletes of the photon world - they can run really fast and jump really high. In fact, they are so energetic that they can travel through space for millions of years without losing much of their energy.

Scientists study high-energy gamma rays to learn more about the universe and how it works. They use special telescopes to detect gamma rays and see where they are coming from. It's like having a magnifying glass that can see things that are too far away or too small for our eyes to see.

So, to sum up, a very-high-energy gamma ray is a tiny particle that travels really fast and has a lot of energy. Scientists study them to learn more about space and how it works.