Scientists in Utah have identified rare cosmic rays that may have come from beyond the Milky Way.
It was named “Amaterasu Particle” after the Japanese goddess of the sun.
A spokesperson for Telescope Array called the source of the particles a “mystery.”
Space scientists from the University of Utah and the University of Tokyo have identified a very important phenomenon. Rare ultra-high energy cosmic rays It is believed that it came from beyond the Milky Way galaxy.
It was named “Amaterasu Particle” after the Japanese goddess of the sun. The substance of elementary particles that cannot be seen with the naked eye.
The results of the study, published in the journal Science, revealed that the energy is comparable to a record-setting one. “Oh my God” particle observed in 1991.
“In the case of the Oh My God particle and this new particle, if we trace their trajectories back to their source, we have enough There is no high energy.” That’s the mystery – what the heck is going on? ”
Cosmic rays and charged particles falling on the earth, usually originating from the sun. However, high-energy cosmic rays like the Amaterasu particle are an exception and are thought to come from other galaxies or extragalactic sources.
The recently discovered particles were identified by the Telescope Array, an observatory in Utah’s Western Desert. The space observation station, which consists of 507 surface detectors spanning 270 square miles, observed more than 30 ultra-high-energy cosmic rays, with the Amaterasu particle standing out as the most significant event.
It hit the atmosphere on May 27, 2021, setting off 23 surface detectors, with a calculated energy of about 244 exaEV, slightly smaller than the 320 exaEV of the “Oh My God” particle. It didn’t arrive.
The observed particles, including the Amaterasu particles, appear to emerge from a cavity or empty space.
Unlike low-energy cosmic rays, whose origins can be traced, these ultra-high-energy particles seemingly originate from empty space. Amaterasu particles are thought to originate from the local void, a region of the sky adjacent to the Milky Way.
The expansion of the telescope array offers hope for further answers to this rare event. Equipped with an additional 500 detectors and covering an area roughly the size of Rhode Island, the observatory aims to capture particle showers caused by cosmic rays and provide further insight into the mysteries of the universe. Masu.
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