Can gamma rays be used to investigate heavenly bodies?

Question

This is a very layman level question. I watch a lot of documentaries, that's my only qualification. I have seen in documentaries that gamma rays have an extraordinary penetrating power. So if we could have a gamma ray gun on one end of planet Jupiter and something analogous to an X-Ray film of the other end, would it be possible to take an X-Ray ? Can or Is this penetrating property of gamma rays being used in science?

Answer 1

No, gamma rays do not penetrate far into planets. Gamma rays are stopped at the very upper layer of the Earth's atmosphere (which is a good thing for life on Earth). Gamma rays (x-rays and neutrons) can be used to find out about surface properties planets without an atmosphere. To gamma rays, a person or a wall looks almost as cloudy (stopped at the same rate) as the air, so a PET scan just locates the source of gamma rays not details of the body.