Nasa sees ‘unexpected and unexplained’ signal coming from outside our galaxy

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Scientists have discovered an sudden and unexplained signal from outside our galaxy.

The researchers came across the mysterious characteristic in information from Nasa’s Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope whereas in search of one thing else fully, they stated.

The signal seems to be associated to a different gamma-ray signal – dealing with in the same path and with almost the very same magnitude – which itself has not been defined.

Researchers discovered the brand new object when in search of a gamma-ray characteristic associated to the cosmic microwave background, or CMB, the radiation that’s left over from the start of the universe.

Decades in the past, scientists noticed that the CMB is structured in order that it’s hotter and busier in the direction of the constellation Leo and colder with much less microwaves in the other way. Scientists need to perceive that construction higher as a result of that signal have to be eliminated in order that they’ll see variations within the CMB correctly.

In the brand new analysis, scientists needed to see whether or not that very same “dipole” construction might be seen in gamma rays. They did so through the use of a Nasa area telescope that scans your complete sky all through the day.

They did discover such a dipole construction. But it was some other place fully – within the southern sky, far from the place the CMB’s is.

The newly found dipole additionally comes from the identical path as one present in ultrahigh-energy cosmic rays, or UHECRs. Both have comparable magnitudes.

Scientists assume the 2 phenomena are most likely linked. They are seemingly coming from the identical sources, accounting for his or her comparable construction.

Scientists hope both to seek out no matter that supply is, or give you a brand new rationalization for why the 2 options exist.

A paper describing the findings, ‘Probing the Dipole of the Diffuse Gamma-Ray Background’, is printed in The Astrophysical Journal Letters.