Powerful "sun goddess" cosmic ray strikes Earth from mysterious, unknown origin

[Judi Lynn]

11-25-2023

ByEric Ralls
Earth.com staff writer



A recent scientific discovery could be straight out of a science fiction novel. Researchers involved in the Telescope Array experiment have identified an extraordinarily energetic cosmic ray. This particle, named “Amaterasu,” originated from outside our galaxy and boasts an energy level of approximately 240 exa-electron volts (EeV).

Despite its remarkable detection, the analysis reveals that the direction from which this cosmic ray arrived does not align with any discernible source.

Cosmic rays are not just particles from space; they are energetic charged particles that come from both galactic and extragalactic sources. Among these, the extremely high-energy cosmic rays are particularly rare and fascinating.

These rays can possess energy levels greater than 10^18 electron volts (EeV), a figure that is about a million times higher than the energy achievable by the most powerful human-made accelerators.

More:
https://www.earth.com/news/amaterasu-extremely-high-energy-cosmic-ray-detected-with-no-clear-source/