Astronomers have recorded a rare particle of extremely high energy that reached the Earth
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Astronomers have recorded a rare particle of extremely high energy from cosmic rays that reached the Earth.
This was reported by The Guardian with reference to a study published in the scientific journal Science.
The Amaterasu particle, named after the Japanese sun goddess, is one of the most energetic cosmic rays ever discovered.
Only the most powerful cosmic events, much larger than a star explosion, are believed to be capable of producing particles with such energy. However, scientists believe that the recorded particle originated from an empty area of space bordering the Milky Way galaxy.
| Visualization of cosmic rays with which “Amaterasu” “arrived”. Photo: Osaka Metropolitan University |
The energy of “Amaterasu” is 244 exaelectron volts. This is millions of times more than the particles produced in the Large Hadron Collider, the largest accelerator of elementary particles. It is equal to the energy of a golf ball moving at a speed of more than 150 km/h.
“Things that people think of as energetic, like a supernova, aren’t even close to being energetic enough compared to it. It takes an enormous amount of energy, very high magnetic fields, to hold a particle like that while it’s accelerating.” – says co-author of the study John Matthews.
“Amaterasu” is inferior only to the “Oh-My-God” particle, discovered in 1991. It is estimated at 320 exaelectron volts.
“When I first discovered this high-energy cosmic ray, I thought there must have been a mistake, because it showed a level of energy unprecedented in the last three decades.” – says the co-author of the article, Toshihiro Fujii.
A potential candidate for such an energy level could be a supermassive black hole located in the heart of another galaxy. Near these huge objects, matter splits into its subatomic structures, and protons, electrons, and nuclei fly through the universe at almost the speed of light.
“Amaterasu” and “Oh-My-God” have no apparent source. Therefore, scientists suggest that this may indicate either a much larger magnetic deviation than expected or an unidentified source in the Local Void (an empty region of intergalactic space) or an incomplete understanding of the physics of high-energy particles.
We will remind you that earlier we wrote that an “archipelago of spots” 15 times wider than the Earth has appeared on the Sun, which can cause magnetic storms.
Read also: Data from NASA telescopes turned into music: what the galaxy sounds like. VIDEO
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