Telescope Array snaps mysterious cosmic ray that came from beyond the Milky Way Galaxy

27.11.2023 - 04:54 / tech.hindustantimes.com

Over the years, we have seen scientists unveiling or discovering a huge number of space mysteries courtesy of the amazing technologies deployed by various nations. Now, researchers in Utah, have identified mysterious highly charged cosmic ray in a rare event. Scientists from Telescope Array, Utah say that the ray is coming from beyond the Milky Way Galaxy. The cosmic ray has been dubbed as “Amaterasu particle.” Know more about the mysterious cosmic ray here and what scientists are saying about this rare discovery.

As per reports, scientists from the University of Utah and the University of Tokyo captured the highly charged cosmic ray that has been named as the "Amaterasu particle" after the Japanese Sun goddess. According to a study by the journal Science, Telescope Array has identified over 30 ultra-high-energy cosmic rays however, scientists have not seen something so highly charged as the Amaterasu particle. It was first detected on May 27, 2021, by the Telescope Array experiment near Delta, Utah. The space observation station consists of 507 surface detectors spread over 270 square miles

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According to John Matthews, a research professor at the University of Utah and co-author of the study, “If you hold out your hand, one (cosmic ray) goes through the palm of your hand every second, but those are really low-energy things. When you get out to these really high-energy (cosmic rays), it's more like one per square kilometre per century. It's never going through your hand".

Also read: Massive 'Cosmic Vine' unveiled! Structure stretches over 13-million light years

According to a Business Insider report, when the cosmic ray hit the Earth's surface, it activated over 23 surface detectors and generated power of 244 exa-electron volts. After studies, scientists were unable to find the origin of the cosmic ray. Scientists reported that the the origins of low-energy cosmic rays are identifiable, however, for rare ones like the Amaterasu particle, they emerge from empty spaces which makes it hard to identify their exact origin. Now, scientists speculate that the cosmic rays originated from the Local Void, an empty region of space of the Milky Way Galaxy.

More such ultra-high-energy cosmic rays are yet to be discovered, but they will most certainly go a long way to unveil more cosmic mysteries and perhaps, even the reason behind such a rare occurrence.

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