They're just high energy particles that interact with the CCD cameras typically used for astronomy. You get a bright point or particle track, as the particle in

They're just high energy particles that interact with the CCD cameras typically used for astronomy. You get a bright point or particle track, as the particle interacts with the CCD producing electrons. This is worse for space telescopes, as there are more cosmic rays in space. For some simple information see: http://spiff.rit.edu/classes/phys373/lectures/cosmic_rays/cosmic_rays.html http://spiff.rit.edu/classes/phys373/lectures/cosmic_rays/co...