Antarctic Telescope Detects Signals from Nearby Galaxy

By Isabelle Parker

Messier 77 core (Photo from Hubble Space Telescope)

A neutrino observatory in Antarctica named IceCube has reported the detection of neutrinos from active galaxy NGC 1068, or Messier 77 (M77).

Neutrinos are fundamental particles that rarely have anything to do with other particles, and so can travel freely across the Universe. Due to their independent nature, they are hard to detect, and require a very big detector to spot.

The particles were detected by America’s Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station, who drilled 86 holes each around 2.5 kilometres deep in the ice. These holes contained 60 light detectors attached to a cable.

This helps to locate neutrinos as the particles will occasionally bump into a neutron or proton in the ice near a detector. This collision creates a heavier particle called a muon, which travels so fast that it emits a blue glow. Scientists can then measure where the light came from.

Most neutrinos come from the Earth's core, but some have been found to have originated somewhere in the distant Universe.

From re-examining the first decade of data they received, scientists were able to focus in on a bright spot in the background neutrino glow. From this, they learned that around 80 neutrinos had come from M77, a galaxy around 47 million light years away from Earth.

The discovery will likely prompt new papers and research into the inner working of M77. The IceCube data also provides information about neutrinos that will help to refine this research.