The Independent

Incredibly powerful ‘cosmic ray’ signal spotted in distant space – and scientists have no clue what it is

Source: Getty/iStock

Scientists have detected the second most powerful cosmic ray ever seen.

An particle charged with so much energy that it appears to defy explanation appears to have been thrown from a seemingly dark region on the edge of our galaxy and landed on Earth, astronomers say.

The astonishingly powerful charged particle is almost entirely mysterious, and should not be able to exist according to current understandings of physics. Researchers do not know

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from The Independent

The Independent3 min read
The UN Warns Sudan's Warring Parties That Darfur Risks Starvation And Death If Aid Isn't Allowed In
The United Nations food agency warned Sudan’s warring parties Friday that there is a serious risk of widespread starvation and death in Darfur and elsewhere in Sudan if they don’t allow humanitarian aid into the vast western region. Leni Kinzli, the
The Independent10 min read
The Repair Shop’s Jay Blades On Befriending The King: ‘I’ve Had A Few Sleepovers At His House’
Jay Blades loves a good cry. He weeps in front of up to 3 million people every Wednesday when he fronts the beloved BBC One sobfest that is The Repair Shop, in which timeworn family heirlooms get carefully restored. And when we speak, during a filmin
The Independent4 min read
Has London Become ‘Uninhabitable’ For The Younger Generation?
When a man is tired of London, as the much-paraphrased Samuel Johnson quote goes, he is tired of life. This was probably a deeply smug thing to say back when Johnson was chatting to Boswell in his 18th-century heyday, but in the years that have elaps

Related Books & Audiobooks