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Hindustan Times
15 hours 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
20 hours 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
Newsweek
a day ago
- Science
- Newsweek
Mysterious Radio Signal Rising From Antarctica's Ice Baffles Scientists
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Mysterious radio signals detected emanating from Antarctica's ice have left particle physicists baffled. The pulses were detected by the Antarctic Impulsive Transient Antenna (ANITA)—an array of radio instruments flown high above the southernmost continent via air balloon. ANTIA was designed to detect the radio waves generated when neutrinos from space hit the Antarctic ice, with the aim of learning more about distant cosmic phenomena. In contrast, these strange new signals appear to be coming from below the horizon, a source direction that cannot be reconciled with our current understanding of particle physics. To reach the detector, the team explained, the signal must have traveled through thousands of miles of rock first, which should have attenuated it down to nothing. "The radio waves that we detected were at really steep angles, like 30 degrees below the surface of the ice," said paper author and physicist Stephanie Wissel. "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." The ANITA Experiment prepares for launch. The ANITA Experiment prepares for launch. Stephanie Wissel / Penn State Perhaps the most ironic aspect of this discovery is that ANITA was launched over Antarctica in part because this remote location should limit the risk of interference from other signals. The team's analysis of the strange new signals ruled out the possibility that they were caused by neutrinos, regular cosmic rays, or other known particle-based signals. "My guess is that some interesting radio propagation effect occurs near ice and also near the horizon that I don't fully understand," said Wissel. "But we certainly explored several of those—and we haven't been able to find any of those yet either. So, right now it's one of those long-standing mysteries." The researchers are currently developing the next big ultra-high energy particle detector, the Payload for Ultrahigh Energy Observations, or "PUEO" for short. When PUEO launches, Wissel added, "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." Neutrinos are electrically neutral elementary particles that are abundant in the universe, being emitted from high-energy sources such as stars, supernovas, and even the Big Bang. Despite the presence of neutrino signals throughout the cosmos, they are notoriously difficult to detect. This is because these particles typically pass straight through regular matter, as they interact weakly with it via gravity and the weak nuclear force. "You have a billion neutrinos passing through your thumbnail at any moment, but neutrinos don't really interact," Wissel explained. "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." Because of this, the detection of even one neutrino offers a veritable trove of information, the researchers explained. "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," said Wissel. In the case of ANITA, the researchers are hunting for signs of a flavor of neutrino—the tau neutrino—which can interact with ice to form a "tau lepton." When tau leptons decay, they break down and produce emissions known as showers. By projecting backward from these signals, physicists are able to determine the nature of the neutrinos that triggered them. Unfortunately, the same does not apply to the new, strange signals, however, as their angle of flight is outside that predicted by existing models. Do you have a tip on a science story that Newsweek should be covering? Do you have a question about particle physics? Let us know via science@ Reference Pierre Auger Collaboration, Abdul Halim, A., Abreu, P., Aglietta, M., Allekotte, I., Almeida Cheminant, K., Almela, A., Aloisio, R., Alvarez-Muñiz, J., Ammerman Yebra, J., Anastasi, G. A., Anchordoqui, L., Andrada, B., Andringa, S., Apollonio, L., Aramo, C., Araújo Ferreira, P. R., Arnone, E., Arteaga Velázquez, J. C., ... Zeolla, A. (2025). Search for the Anomalous Events Detected by ANITA Using the Pierre Auger Observatory. Physical Review Letters, 134(12).
NDTV
2 days ago
- Science
- NDTV
Scientists Baffled By Mysterious Radio Waves Coming From Under Antarctica Ice
Scientists have been left perplexed after they found strange radio waves coming from beneath the ice in Antarctica. A group of researchers at the University of Pennsylvania detected the mysterious signals that "defy the current understanding of particle physics". As per the study results published in the journal Physical Review Letters, the mysterious radio waves were discovered by the Antarctic Impulsive Transient Antenna (ANITA). As per the researchers, the anomalous signal had to travel through thousands of kilometres of rock before reaching the detector. In typical circumstances, the distance and the distortions alone would have rendered the radio signal undetectable, but somehow it managed to reach the scientists. "The radio waves that we detected were at really steep angles, like 30 degrees below the surface of the ice," said Stephanie Wissel, associate professor of physics, astronomy and astrophysics, who worked on the ANITA team. The scientists discovered the radio waves accidentally while searching for neutrinos -- a type of particle with no charge, having the smallest mass of all subatomic particles. They are usually emitted by high-energy sources like the Sun or major cosmic events like supernovas or even the Big Bang. "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 Ms Wissel. Mystery of anomalous particle Ms Wissel added that you could have a billion neutrinos passing through you at any moment, but they don't interact with you. "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," she theorised. "So, right now, it's one of these long-standing mysteries." Though the Penn State team does not have any answers about the anomalous signal currently, Ms Wissel is hopeful that the new detector, called PUEO, better at detecting neutrino signals, might solve the mystery. "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."
