One of the Most Powerful Cosmic Rays Ever Detected May Have Come from This Nearby Starburst Galaxy
The Daily Galaxy • • science
Key Points:
- The Amaterasu particle, detected in 2021 by Utah’s Telescope Array Project, is one of the most energetic cosmic rays ever observed, with an estimated energy of 244 exa-electronvolts, about 40 million times greater than that produced by the Large Hadron Collider.
- Initially, the particle's trajectory appeared to originate from the Local Void, a nearly empty region of space lacking obvious sources capable of producing such ultra-energetic particles, puzzling astronomers.
- A new study using physics-based simulations and Approximate Bayesian Computation to model cosmic-ray propagation and magnetic field interactions suggests that Amaterasu's source is more likely a nearby star-forming galaxy, such as M82 (the Cigar Galaxy),
