Pions are particles created by the collision of the high-energy protons from the supernovas.

FORBES: Scientists Confirm Cosmic Rays Come From Exploding Stars

Scientists have likened the phenomena to the simultaneous explosion of a thousand supernovas.

CNN: Gamma ray finding may open new window on universe

Supernovas, on the other hand, truly run with the big boys.

ENGADGET: Alt-week 2.16.13: robo-rats, a young black hole and a computer that cannot crash

The array has been used for more than three decades to tease out details of far-flung galaxies, supernovas and black holes - when not appearing in films.

BBC: Very Large Array telescope in public call for new name

Another piece of evidence for sterile neutrinos comes from supernovas.

ECONOMIST: Research from the beginning of time

Astrophysicists will also use it to try to re-create the conditions at the center of supernovas, to understand how the elements that make up our solar system--and our bodies--are created.

FORBES: A Nuclear Hybrid

Existing physics provides no plausible explanation for this, but if sterile neutrinos do exist then they would be formed in supernovas and ejected in a way that could give just such a kick.

ECONOMIST: Research from the beginning of time

It's what we call a light echo, an effect that we've seen around supernovas - stars that explode - and because of the vast scales involved, the speed of light is actually very slow.

NPR: What Makes Our Solar System Special?

One key design difference between the US concept and Euclid would be the emphasis the American mission would place on using exploded stars, supernovas, as markers to measure the expansion rate of the Universe.

BBC: Euclid telescope to probe dark universe