Scientists have detected one of the strongest cosmic rays ever to hit Earth. The particle, which they named after a Japanese goddess, they say is the second most energetic of its kind. But it is not clear where it came from and what caused it. The findings suggest that it arrived from a part of the universe where almost nothing exists – adding to the mysterious circumstances of this high-energy radiation.
Earth, according to a newly published study in the journal Science cosmic rays hit with an immense amount of energy. Scientists have named the particles of this beam after the Japanese sun goddess Amaterasu and estimate its energy at 240 exaelectronvolts (EeV).
“When I first saw this high-energy beam, I thought there must have been a mistake, because it displayed a level of energy unprecedented in the last three decades,” the lead author of the study and astrophysicist from Osaka Metropolitan University Toshihiro Fujii.
This is the second most energetic particle of cosmic radiation that scientists have recorded. The current record holder remains the Oh My God particle captured in 1991, which had an estimated energy of around 320 EeV (thus moving at more than 99.9% of the speed of light).
Unknown origin
In both cases, cosmic radiation is so strong that it should theoretically not exist at all. Nevertheless, in 1991 and thirty years later, such particles were detected. Scientists do not know what their source is – there is nothing in our galaxy that could give them such energy.
And not only do scientists not know what caused the radiation, it’s also unclear where Amaterasu came to Earth from. “The direction of its trajectory points to the void of space,” the researchers said in the study. The radiation appears to come from a region between galaxies where almost nothing exists—no stars, planets, nebulae, or other known cosmic structures.
It is possible that the source of the beam is located in another part of space and has been deviated from its path due to the magnetic field. However, due to the enormous energy of the particle, this theory falters a bit. It thus remains a mystery where Amaterasu originated and what caused her. Scientists are toying with the idea of supernova explosions, merging black holes and pulsars.
“But the particle could also have come from an unknown astronomical phenomenon that is outside the standard model of physics,” Fujia counters. To this day, however, scientists are still not sure what the source of the Oh My God particle was, which arrived at Earth thirty years ago.
In October of this year, scientists also reported on the strongest gamma radiation from space to date. Check out his modeling in the video below:
TN.cz
2023-11-29 04:40:00
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