IceCube traces neutrino IC 210922A to starburst galaxy Shadow Blaster
Scientists just tracked a super-energetic neutrino, IC 210922A, all the way back to a distant galaxy called Shadow Blaster, 11 billion light-years from Earth!
Thanks to the IceCube Neutrino Observatory in Antarctica, this is the first evidence that starburst regions in galaxies can launch these nearly invisible particles at crazy speeds.
Dormant black holes may accelerate neutrinos
Shadow Blaster was spotted using powerful telescopes and its light got boosted by gravitational lensing, which is like a cosmic magnifying glass.
Its core is packed with gas and intense star formation, making it a prime spot for high-energy neutrinos.
Even though it doesn't have an active supermassive black hole, researchers found that dormant black holes might still act as particle accelerators.
Turns out, galaxies like this could be behind up to 20% of the diffuse neutrino background in space.