In what scientists are describing as a mysterious cosmic ray, a particle has been observed in Utah that originated outside of our own Milky Way galaxy. Researchers from the University of Utah have released a study detailing the observation, which was made in August of 2019 when a high-energy particle from deep space collided with the atmosphere of Earth.
The particle was detected by the Telescope Array Observatory, a cosmic ray observatory in the middle of the desert in Utah. The observatory is setup to detect air showers as high-energy particles interact with the atmosphere, and the collision of this particular particle generated a powerful shockwave that alerted the researchers at the University of Utah.
From there, the team of scientists worked quickly to study the particle and its origins. Utilizing data from NASA’s Nowcast of Atmospheric Electrons and the CALET and DAMPE space observatories, the team was able to trace the particle back to its source – a galaxy that’s estimated to be at least 3.7 billion light years away.
The particle, which is most likely a proton, is even more tantalizing due to its unusual properties that researchers haven’t been able to explain. While most cosmic particles that reach Earth originate from supernova explosions inside our galaxy, no such site or sign of origin has been found in this case. The particle was also observed to have an extremely high energy level that was 20 times greater than that of particles produced by supernovas.
At a time when scientists around the world are searching for signs of dark matter&mdash, mysterious particles which make up about 25 percent of the universe— this observation is causing the universe to look entirely different. Whether this particle is connected to dark matter or not, it is clear that this detection has sparked a flurry of activity to uncover the origins of this and other mysterious cosmic rays.
