Discovery: Powerful 'ghost particle' with clues about the universe
Feb 13, 2025
Once upon a time, there were tiny, magical things called neutrinos. They are so small that we can’t see them. They are like ghosts zooming around in space! Neutrinos travel super fast, almost as fast as light. They can go through everything, like stars and galaxies, without stopping.
Recently, scientists found a really strong neutrino. This one is 30 times more powerful than any neutrino discovered before! Wow! It likely came from far, far away, beyond our Milky Way galaxy. The scientists are still figuring out exactly where it came from. They shared their exciting news in a famous science magazine called Nature.
So, what exactly are neutrinos? They are super tiny and very common in the universe. You could say they are the second-most popular particles, right after light particles called photons! Neutrinos don’t weigh much and don’t like to interact with other things. This makes them tricky to find. Imagine trying to catch a feather in a big windstorm!
To spot this strong neutrino, scientists used an amazing tool called the Cubic Kilometer Neutrino Telescope. This telescope is deep in the Mediterranean Sea and is made up of shiny glass balls. The discovery happened on February 13, 2023.
This incredible neutrino has an energy that is a quadrillion times stronger than light particles! It’s also way stronger than the strongest particles at a giant science lab called the Large Hadron Collider in Switzerland.
So, where do these energetic neutrinos come from? They can be born from wild space events. This includes things like a black hole gobbling up stuff or a big star exploding at the end of its life.
Scientists are still learning about neutrinos. They want to understand the mysteries of our universe, and neutrinos are special messengers that help them do just that!