At an altitude of 40 km above Antarctica, ANITA — an airborne antenna on balloons designed to detect cosmic particles — picked up radio signals coming at an angle of 30° from beneath the ice surface.
But they did not reflect off the ice — they came from below, which “cannot be explained by current particle physics models,” say scientists from an international group, including researchers from Penn State.
“The signals had to pass through thousands of kilometers of rock, and in theory, they should have been absorbed. But they reached us,” explains physicist Stephanie Wessel.
Analysis showed that these were definitely not neutrinos. Although ANITA is designed to search for them, data from other detectors, including IceCube and Pierre Auger, did not confirm these events.
Scientists do not rule out the possibility that this is a new type of particle or an unknown interaction, but admit:
“We don’t yet have an explanation for this anomaly.”
In 2025, ANITA is to be replaced by a new detector, PUEO, which is more sensitive and accurate. Scientists hope that it will help unlock the mystery or even detect neutrinos from the edges of the universe for the first time.
For now, the cause remains a mystery. Social media users speculate about secret bases belonging to Hitler or Hyperborea, but scientists urge restraint.
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