“When I first discovered this ultra-high-energy cosmic ray, I thought there must have been a mistake, as it showed an energy level unprecedented in the last 3 decades,” shared Professor Fujii.
Such an energy level is comparable to that of the most energetic cosmic ray ever observed, dubbed the “Oh-My-God” particle, which had an estimated energy of 320 EeV when detected in 1991.
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“No promising astronomical object matching the direction from which the cosmic ray arrived has been identified, suggesting possibilities of unknown astronomical phenomena and novel physical origins beyond the Standard Model,” Professor Fujii mused.
Once we can generate energies that high the question would be: should be ping back? It could be a way to ascertain where on the Kardashev scale we are but would that bring friendly First Contact or a Berserker Probe?
We just have to hope that the sender doesn’t live on a planet orbited by three suns.