{
  "id": 45884,
  "title": "Mysterious Milky Way object accelerates protons beyond one quadrillion electron volts",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/02/mysterious-milky-way-object-accelerates-protons-beyond-one",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-08-02T02:59:35.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "ScienceDaily",
    "slug": "sciencedaily",
    "url": "https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/07/260731034150.htm"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Scientists have identified a celestial object within the Milky Way capable of accelerating protons to extraordinary energies, exceeding one quadrillion electron volts. This finding could aid in understanding cosmic rays, high-speed particles that traverse the space between stars and impact events throughout the galaxy. Composed predominantly of protons, cosmic rays can attain energies surpassing those generated by human-designed particle accelerators. The Large Hadron Collider, situated between Switzerland and France, propels protons to near-light speeds, yet natural cosmic accelerators in space can boost particles to even more extreme energy levels.\n\nAn international research team, led by Hiroshima University, confirmed the galactic accelerator after synthesizing data from three prominent observatories - ground-based and space-based. The results were published in The Astrophysical Journal on July 16, 2026. The highest energy cosmic rays, known as PeV (peta electron volts), can reach and exceed one quadrillion electron volts. Detecting a PeVatron, a natural accelerator pushing protons beyond this PeV threshold, is a significant pursuit in modern astrophysics.\n\nIdentifying PeVatron objects is challenging, as distinguishing proton signals from highly energetic electrons' signals is complex. The Tibet AS gamma experiment, initiated jointly by Japan and China in 1990, and China's Large High Altitude Air Shower Observatory (LHAASO) have detected numerous gamma-ray sources with energies surpassing 0.1 PeV. LHAASO J1912+1014u is one such source. Gamma rays, the most energetic form of electromagnetic radiation, can be generated when cosmic-ray particles interact with their surroundings. The energies of gamma rays are typically about one-tenth of the energy of the cosmic rays that created them.\n\nWhile earlier research suggested LHAASO J1912+1014u might be a pulsar wind nebula or debris from a massive star explosion, data from the Tibet AS gamma and LHAASO experiments alone could not definitively identify it as a proton PeVatron. The limited image resolution of these observations prevented researchers from closely examining the source to determine if protons or electrons were responsible for the gamma rays. However, additional information from other instruments provided the crucial missing evidence.\n\nThe Fermi Large Area Telescope (Fermi-LAT), a NASA-led mission, the FOREST Unbiased Galactic plane Imaging survey via the Nobeyama 45-m telescope (FUGIN), led by Japan, and NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory contributed valuable data. With these observations spanning a broad portion of the electromagnetic spectrum, from radio waves to gamma rays, the researchers built a detailed multiwavelength model of the source. Combining these measurements with tera-electron-volt (TeV) observations from LHAASO, the team concluded that LHAASO J1912+1014u is a proton PeVatron, eliminating other possible explanations.",
  "summary": "Scientists have identified LHAASO J1912+1014u as a cosmic accelerator that can push protons beyond one quadrillion electron volts. The finding may help reveal where the Milky Way’s most energetic cosmic rays come from and how they influence the galaxy.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}