A telescope in Utah detects mysterious cosmic rays outside our galaxy

• Scientists in Utah have identified a rare cosmic ray believed to have come from outside the Milky Way.

• It was named the “Amaterasu particle” after the Japanese sun goddess.

• A spokesman for the Telescope Array described the source of the particle as a “mystery.”

Astronomers from the University of Utah and the University of Tokyo have identified a massive presence Rare cosmic rays of very high energy It is believed to have traveled from outside the Milky Way Galaxy.

Named after the Japanese sun goddess, the Amaterasu particle is a particle A subatomic entity that cannot be seen with the naked eye.

The results, published in the journal Science, reveal that its energy competitors set the record The “Oh My God” particle was observed in 1991.

“In the case of the Oh My God particle and this new particle, you can trace it back to its source and there’s nothing high enough energy to get it,” said John Matthews, a Telescope Array spokesperson and co-author of the study. I produced it. That’s the secret of this – what the hell is going on?”

Cosmic rays and charged particles constantly rain down on Earth, usually originating from the sun. However, high-energy cosmic rays, such as Amaterasu particles, are exceptional and are thought to come from other galaxies and extragalactic sources.

The recently discovered particle was identified by the Array Telescope, an observatory in Utah’s Western Desert. The space monitoring station, which includes 507 surface detectors over an area of ​​270 square miles, detected more than 30 high-energy cosmic rays, with the Amaterasu particle emerging as the most significant event.

It hit the atmosphere on May 27, 2021, triggering 23 surface detectors, with a calculated energy of about 244 exaelectronvolts, just below the “oh my god” particle’s 320 exaelectronvolts.

The observed particles, including Amaterasu’s particles, appear to emerge from voids or empty space.

Unlike low-energy cosmic rays, whose origins can be traced, high-energy particles like these appear to come from seemingly empty spaces. The Amaterasu particle is believed to have originated from the Local Void, an empty region on the border of the Milky Way.

Expanding the telescope array offers hope for more answers to this rare event. With an additional 500 detectors covering an area roughly the size of Rhode Island, the observatory aims to capture particle showers caused by cosmic rays and provide further insights into cosmic mysteries.

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