Shocking mystery at the center of the Milky Way

Astronomers were shocked to discover high-energy particles erupting from the giant black hole at the center of our Milky Way galaxy.

Researchers believe the giant black hole at the center of the Milky Way may be producing mysterious particles called neutrinos. If confirmed, it would be the first time scientists have traced neutrinos back to a black hole.

The discovery could help explain how cosmic rays are produced and solve a key mystery about how the universe works, researchers say. The evidence comes from three NASA X-ray observation satellites.

Neutrinos are tiny particles with no electric charge and interact very weakly with electrons and protons. Unlike light or other charged particles, neutrinos can emerge from deep within their cosmic sources and travel throughout the universe without being absorbed by distracting matter or deflected by electromagnetic fields as is the case with charged particles.

Earth is currently bombarded by neutrinos from the Sun. However, neutrinos from outside the solar system can be millions or even billions of times more energetic.

Scientists have long searched for the source of very high-energy and ultra-high-energy neutrinos. They believe the highest-energy neutrinos are created in the universe's most violent events, such as galaxy mergers, matter spiraling into supermassive black holes, and hurricanes around densely rotating stars called pulsars.

Because neutrinos pass through matter so easily, building detectors that can accurately reveal their origin is extremely difficult.

"Finding out where high-energy neutrinos come from is one of the biggest problems in astronomy today. We now have the first evidence that an astronomical source - the Milky Way's supermassive black hole - may be producing these extremely energetic neutrinos," said Yang Bai of the University of Wisconsin, co-author of the new study published in the journal Physical Review D.

According to Daily Mail