We have almost everything we need to discover some of the greatest mysteries of the cosmos. A team of scientists has embarked on an Antarctic mission and they have confirmed the existence of cosmic neutrinos. Neutrinos are small, energetic particles that may have arrived from far reaches of other dimensions, such as the Milky Way and beyond.
Cosmic neutrinos are thought to be produced by some of the universe’s most aggressive agents, such as black holes, supernovas, and the energetic cores of galaxies. Neutrinos are some of the most peculiar and elusive structures in the universe. These subatomic particles have almost no mass and pass unnoticed through our bodies on an infinite pace, with every second of every day. Neutrinos reach Earth in a pristine state and can reveal very much about the early universe.
Scientists have managed to unearth these almost invisible particles which are buried deep in the Antarctic ice. A special observatory has spotted the ghostly, almost massless particles which come from inside our galaxy.
The IceCube Neutrino Observatory is formed by 86 shafts dug beneath 8.000 feet into the ice, near the South Pole. These particular shafts are designed with special detectors which look like the telltale light from high energy particles which plow through the surrounding ice.
Between May 2010 and May 2012, the special observatory has detected more than 35.000 neutrinos and 20 if these yet amazing and fascinating particles were so highly energetic that scientists are inclined to believe that they come from far beyond our galaxy.
Those are special kinds of neutrinos, also known as muon neutrinos and they came from the opposite direction compared with other neutrinos discovered in previous phases. The rate at which they appeared was symmetrical throughout the observation, which means that it doesn’t matter where the observatory is pointed as a result of the daily rotation and yearly orbit of the Earth.
The fascinating observation opened a completely new chapter in particle physics, offering scientists the chance to unearth the early secrets of the universe and find out more about physical processes, progress and evolution. The devil is in the details, a famous quote points out. In other words, meaning lays in details, namely the almost invisible neutrinos that hold highly visible secrets. All it takes is an eye keen for detail, some good luggage of knowledge, patience and time.
“These neutrinos may give us an understanding about the origin of the most energetic processes in the universe”, scientists have declared.
Image Source: flickr.com
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