Extremely high energy "Sun Goddess" particles baffle scientists. Here is all you need to know

Astronomers and space scientists are baffled over the fall of a rare and extremely high-energy particle from an apparently empty region of space. Scientists believe that only the most powerful cosmic events, on scales far exceeding the explosion of a star, can produce such energetic particles. But these particles appear to have emerged from the Local Void, an empty area of space bordering the Milky Way galaxy. Named 'Amaterasu' after the sun goddess in Japanese mythology, it is one of the highest-energy cosmic rays ever detected.

"What the heck is going on?"

Prof John Matthews, of the University of Utah and a co-author of the paper in the journal 'Science' said, "You trace its trajectory to its source and there’s nothing high energy enough to have produced it." He said further, "That’s the mystery of this – what the heck is going on?"

Energy exceeding 240 EeV

The scientists are surprised that the Amaterasu particle has an energy exceeding 240 exa-electron volts (EeV). It is millions of times more than particles produced in the Large Hadron Collider, the most powerful accelerator ever built. It is equivalent to the energy of a golf ball traveling at 95mph.

High magnetic fields?

According to 'The Guardians', Matthews said that supernovas are nowhere near energetic enough for this. He said further that huge amounts of energy, and really high magnetic fields if needed to confine the particle while it gets accelerated.

Toshihiro Fujii, an associate professor at Osaka Metropolitan University in Japan, told 'The Guardians' that when he first discovered this ultra-high-energy cosmic ray, he thought there must have been a mistake, as it showed an energy level unprecedented in the last three decades.

Black hole?

This level of energy can be emitted from a supermassive black hole at the heart of another galaxy. In the vicinity of these vast entities, matter is stripped back to its subatomic structures and protons, electrons and nuclei are hurled out across the universe at nearly the speed of light.

FAQs:

Why are scientists baffled over the fall of high-energy particles?
Astronomers and space scientists are perplexed over the fall of high-energy particles because only the most powerful cosmic events, on scales far exceeding the explosion of a star, can produce such energetic particles.

How much energetic the 'Sun Goddess particles' are?
The scientists are surprised that the Amaterasu particle has an energy exceeding 240 exa-electron volts (EeV). It is millions of times more than particles produced in the Large Hadron Collider, the most powerful accelerator ever built. It is equivalent to the energy of a golf ball traveling at 95mph.