Latest news with #AntarcticImpulsiveTransientAntenna
Scottish Sun
3 days ago
- Science
- Scottish Sun
‘Mystery pulse' spotted 25 miles ABOVE Antarctica is ‘unknown to science' as baffled experts say they ‘don't understand'
The mysterious radio waves were being emitted at a steep angle below the ice SURPR-ICE! 'Mystery pulse' spotted 25 miles ABOVE Antarctica is 'unknown to science' as baffled experts say they 'don't understand' STRANGE radio pulses detected roughly 25 miles (40km) above Antarctica could be the mark of a new cosmic particle, according to a new study. This rare signal was first detected by the Antarctic Impulsive Transient Antenna (ANITA) in 2006, a series of tools floating over icy continent carried by balloons. Advertisement 3 The now-retired ANITA experiment aimed to detect ultra-high-energy (UHE) cosmic neutrinos - or "ghost particles" - and other cosmic rays Credit: Stephanie Wissel / Penn State. 3 ANITA is a series of tools that floated over Antarctica carried by balloons Credit: Stephanie Wissel / Penn State. The now-retired ANITA experiment aimed to detect ultra-high-energy (UHE) cosmic neutrinos - or "ghost particles" - and other cosmic rays as they rain down on Earth from space. While ANITA usually picks up cosmic signals that bounce off the ice, this new radio pulse came from beneath the horizon and under the ice sheet. Its orientation cannot currently be explained by particle physics, a study in the journal Physical Review Letters wrote. A similar event was recorded in 2014, and it has continued to baffle scientists. Advertisement The mysterious radio waves were being emitted at a steep angle below the ice, suggesting they had to pass through thousands of miles of rock before reaching ANITA. All those obstacles would typically leave a radio pulse too faint to be detectable - but not this signal. "It's an interesting problem, because we still don't actually have an explanation for what those anomalies are," ANITA team member and Penn State University researcher Stephanie Wissel said in a statement. "What we do know is that they're most likely not representing neutrinos." Advertisement Scientists have ruled out neutrinos, the most common particle in the universe. Neutrinos are unofficially known as "ghost particles" due to the fact that they don't have any mass or carry any charge. "You have a billion neutrinos passing through your thumbnail at any moment, but neutrinos don't really interact," added Wissel. Inside abandoned Antarctic clifftop 'ghost station' where Soviet boffins battled -90C gales 1000s of miles from anywhere "So, this is the double-edged sword problem. If we detect them, it means they have traveled all this way without interacting with anything else. Advertisement "We could be detecting a neutrino coming from the edge of the observable Universe." Scientists suspected that a supernova erupting in space could have coughed a slew of neutrinos in Earth's direction. An international team of researchers attempting to solve the mystery conducted a series of simulations to see if the 2006 and 2014 events align with any significant cosmic events, with data from the the Pierre Auger Observatory in Argentina. There was a supernova that aligned with the signals captured in 2014, but not the 2006 event. Advertisement So there is no clear indication that this cosmic event is what caused the bizarre radio waves. What scientists have done, however, is narrow down their set of explanations. "My guess is that some interesting radio propagation effect occurs near ice and also near the horizon that I don't fully understand, but we certainly explored several of those, and we haven't been able to find any of those yet either," said Wissel. "So, right now, it's one of these long-standing mysteries, and I'm excited that when we fly [Payload for Ultrahigh Energy Observations], we'll have better sensitivity. Advertisement "In principle, we should pick up more anomalies, and maybe we'll actually understand what they are. "We also might detect neutrinos, which would in some ways be a lot more exciting."
Hindustan Times
3 days ago
- Science
- Hindustan Times
Mystery signals detected in Antarctica evoke hope of finding new particles: Report
Scientists have recently detected a pattern of strange signals in the sky above Antarctica. It defies current physics models and could represent a new particle, scientists told Discovered by the Antarctic Impulsive Transient Antenna (ANITA) experiment, the signal pulses were found at about 40 kilometers above the surface of the Earth. According to a report by The Pennsylvania State University(PSU), Antarctic Impulsive Transient Antenna (ANITA) comprises ranging instruments that are flown on balloons. Designed in a specialized manner to detect radio waves or subatomic particles from cosmic rays that hit the atmosphere, ANITA experiment balloons hover high above Antarctica skies. 'We use radio detectors to try to build really, really large telescopes,' said Stephanie Wissel, associate professor of physics, astronomy and astrophysics who worked on the ANITA team searching for signals from elusive particles called neutrinos. Neutrinos are a type of subatomic particle with no charge. They are abundant in the universe. Usually emitted by high-energy sources like the sun or major cosmic events like supernovas or even the Big Bang, there are neutrino signals everywhere, says the report. Wissel has designed experiments to spot neutrinos over Antarctica and South America. The new study provides enhanced context to a nearly decade-old results. Between 2016 and 2018, an ongoing ANITA experiment in Antarctica observed a series of unusual radio signals, according to an international research group that included scientists from Penn State. According to a paper published in the journal Physical Review Letters, the team said that the signal pulses had to pass through thousands of kilometers of rock before reaching the detector, that is up in the sky. This would weaken or completely stop any neutrinos or cosmic rays. The signals that were recently detected were however still strong, possibly implying that something unusual was underway. 'The radio waves that we detected nearly a decade ago were at really steep angles, like 30 degrees below the surface of the ice,' Wissel from PSU added context to the journal. Wissel further explained one possibility whereby unknown radio signal behaviour could be detected in icy or near-horizon conditions. 'My guess is that some interesting radio propagation effect occurs near ice and also near the horizon that I don't fully understand,' she said. 'Right now it's one of those long-standing mysteries,' she added. As the angle of these newly detected signals is sharper than current models of physics allow, the backtracking process isn't possible in this case, said a report by Other neutrino detectors like the IceCube Experiment and the Pierre Auger Observatory could not detect anything that could explain the new signals and their upward-oriented air shower, which defies the usual rule. The ANITA researchers have termed the newly found signals as "anomalous," affirming that they were not caused by neutrinos.
India Today
4 days ago
- Science
- India Today
Strange signal detected from deep inside Antarctica. No one knows what it is
A series of strange signals have been detected on the edge of the planet in Antarctica. The unusual pulses were picked up by the Antarctic Impulsive Transient Antenna (Anita) are balloons flown high above Antarctica, designed to detect radio waves from cosmic rays hitting the balloons are deployed to gain insight into distant cosmic events by analysing signals that reach the Earth. However, this time around, rather than reflecting off the ice, the signals — a form of radio waves — appeared to be coming from below the Scientiests are unable to explain this phenomenon and are speculating that it may hint at new types of particles or interactions previously unknown to science, the team a paper published in the journal Physical Review Letters, the team explains that the anomalous signal had to pass through and interact with thousands of kilometres of rock before reaching the detector, which should have left the radio signal undetectable because it would have been absorbed into the rock. The unusual radio pulses were detected by the Antarctic Impulsive Transient Antenna (ANITA) experiment. (Photo: Stephanie Wissel / Penn State) 'The radio waves that we detected were at really steep angles, like 30 degrees below the surface of the ice. It's an interesting problem because we still don't actually have an explanation for what those anomalies are, but what we do know is that they're most likely not representing neutrinos,' said Stephanie Wissel, associate professor of physics, astronomy and astrophysics, who worked on the Anita team hopes that these particles, once traced, can reveal more about cosmic events than even the most high-powered telescopes and give clues about cosmic events that happened light years away.'We use radio detectors to try to build really, really large neutrino telescopes so that we can go after a pretty low expected event rate. We have these radio antennas on a balloon that flies 40 kilometres above the ice in Antarctica. We point our antennas down at the ice and look for neutrinos that interact in the ice, producing radio emissions that we can then sense on our detectors," Wissel said that these signals can then be traced back to their origin, similar to how a ball thrown at an angle will predictably bounce back at the same revealed the other detectors did not register anything that could have explained what Anita detected, which led the researchers to describe the signal as 'anomalous,' meaning that the particles causing the signal are not are now diving into deeper research to understand its origin, journey and the information it carries.
Hindustan Times
5 days ago
- Science
- Hindustan Times
Strange, unexplained signals detected from Antarctic ice: Here's what scientists say
A team of researchers trying to locate neutrinos in the Antarctic stumbled upon unusual radio signals coming from below the Earth's surface rather than space. The Antarctic Impulsive Transient Antenna (ANITA), a range of equipment flown up on a balloon to capture waves from cosmic rays before they strike the Earth's surface, picked up the signals. This occurrence is contrary to the current commonly accepted norms of particle physics. The transmissions were caught from 30 degrees below the ice surface- a phenomenon quite uncommon for neutrinos. Stephanie Wissel, an astrophysicist at Penn State University and part of the team, said in her results journal, 'It's an interesting problem because we still don't actually have an explanation for what those anomalies are, but what we do know is that they're most likely not representing neutrinos.' According to the team's calculations, neutrino signals are highly unlikely to be detected despite their widespread availability. The signals would have had to pass through thousands of kilometers of rock before being recorded, which makes the possibility incredibly low. 'You have a billion neutrinos passing through your thumbnail at any moment, but neutrinos don't really interact. So, this is the double-edged sword problem. If we detect them, it means they have traveled all this way without interacting with anything else. We could be detecting a neutrino coming from the edge of the observable universe,' Wissel added. Given its secluded location and minimal interference from other signals, the Antarctic was picked as the backdrop of this study. Speaking about how the ANITA works, Wissel said, 'We have these radio antennas on a balloon that flies 40 kilometers above the ice in Antarctica. We point our antennas down at the ice and look for neutrinos that interact in the ice, producing radio emissions that we can then sense on our detectors.' After cross-referencing the data picked up by ANITA with two other independent detectors namely the IceCube Experiment and the Pierre Auger Observatory, the team found that the results didn't match. The signal has now been described as 'anomalous' and confirmed not to be a result of neutrino activity. 'My guess is that some interesting radio propagation effect occurs near ice and also near the horizon that I don't fully understand, but we certainly explored several of those, and we haven't been able to find any of those yet either,' Wissel noted. 'So, right now, it's one of these long-standing mysteries, and I'm excited that when we fly PUEO, we'll have better sensitivity. In principle, we should pick up more anomalies, and maybe we'll actually understand what they are. We also might detect neutrinos, which would in some ways be a lot more exciting.' Several plausible theories to explain the incident have been provided with some suggesting the existence of dark matter and unknown radio wave behavior due to the ice and proximity to the horizon. However, no concrete answer has been reached.
Metro
5 days ago
- Science
- Metro
Mysterious radio pulses coming from below the Antarctic ice
Scientists have detected a series of unusual signals from beneath the ice in Antarctica. Researchers from the Antarctic Impulsive Transient Antenna (ANITA) were baffled to find the signals coming from the ground at seemingly impossible angles. The study used a range of instruments mounted on air balloons flown above the ice-packed continent Publishing their findings in Physical Review Letters, scientists believe the discovery suggests the existence of unknown types of particles or interactions. The steep angles, at around 30 degrees below the ice, cannot be explained by the current understanding of particles. Stephanie Wissel, associate professor of physics, astronomy and astrophysics, said researchers were struggling to explain how the signals reached the detectors through thousands of kilometres of rock. She said: 'It's an interesting problem because we still don't actually have an explanation for what those anomalies are, but what we do know is that they're most likely not representing neutrinos. Neutrinos are tiny particles found everywhere in the universe but are notoriously difficult to detect. They are often emitted by high-energy sources such as the Sun or major cosmic events like supernovas. Wissel added: 'You have a billion neutrinos passing through your thumbnail at any moment, but neutrinos don't really interact. 'But it's a double-edged sword problem. If we detect them, it means they have travelled all this way without interacting with anything else. We could be detecting a neutrino coming from the edge of the observable universe.' ANITA, one of the few detectors designed to spot tiny particles, was set up in Antarctica, where few objects can interfere with signals. But analysis found the pulses discovered under the ice in Antarctica are 'anomalous' meaning they did not match standard particle physics. More Trending The Pennsylvania State University is now developing a more powerful detector called PUEO, which could shed more light on what the signals detected are. Wissel said the new technology would be able to pick up both neutrinos but also more anomalies, but until then, the unknown signals were 'one of these long-standing mysteries'. She said: 'My guess is that some interesting radio propagation effect occurs near ice and also near the horizon that I don't fully understand, but we certainly explored several of those, and we haven't been able to find any of those yet either.' Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@ For more stories like this, check our news page. MORE: Killer Asian needle ants are invading the US MORE: Here's why Keir Starmer thinks technology will actually make us 'more human' MORE: The 'Gate to Hell' has been open for 50 years but is finally burning out
