The phantom particle called neutrino was found in Antarctica providing an astronomical breakthrough.
For the first time, scientists were able to trace the origins of a subatomic phantom particle that traveled 3,700 million light years to Earth. The small high-energy cosmic particle is called the neutrino, and was found by sensors in the Antarctic ice in the IceCube detector.
Scientists and observatories around the world were able to trace the neutrino to a galaxy with a supermassive black hole, which rotates rapidly at its center, known as a blazar. The galaxy is to the left of Orion's shoulder in its constellation and is about 4 billion light years from Earth.
Scientists say the discovery heralds a new era of space research, allowing the use of these particles to study and observe the universe in an unprecedented way. And the finding suggests that scientists will be able to trace the origin of the mysterious cosmic rays for the first time.
"This identification sets in motion the new field of high-energy neutrino astronomy, which we hope will generate exciting advances in our understanding of the universe and fundamental physics, including how and where these ultra-high-energy particles are produced," Doug Cowen, a founding member of the IceCube collaboration and professor of physics and astronomy and astrophysics at Pennsylvania State University, said in a statement. "For 20 years, one of our dreams as a collaboration was to identify the sources of high-energy cosmic neutrinos, and it seems that we have finally succeeded."
