First, NASA tells us UFOs do exist. Now they are
saying there’s evidence of parallel universes (yes, plural)? If this seems like too much on top of everything else, it is, but it seems like
a logical enough explanation when our brains are already broken from current
events.
In 2016, researchers in Antarctica found the presence of high-energy particles that they could not explain. The scientists were looking for these particles arriving from
space using a giant balloon with antennae called ANITA, which stands for Antarctic
Impulsive Transient Antenna.
Three times they launched the balloon, only to
receive weird background noise each time. Upon further examination, they realized
this noise wasn’t random at all. Instead it was the signature of a high-energy
particle coming up from the ice, rather than down from space.
Since then, scientists have been trying to figure out how
this could happen, as it defies the laws of physics. There are three explanations: One, it could mean the presence of a new type of subatomic particle that
passes through the earth, something that is beyond the standard model of
physics, according to Peter Gorham, University of Hawaii Physics and Astronomy
Professor.
Two, it could mean a whole other parallel universe running backwards
to ours. Yes, backwards. The scientists' hypothesis is that the particles were
traveling back through time. According to New Scientist, the "signal
requires the existence of a topsy-turvy universe created in the same big bang
as our own and existing in parallel with it. In this mirror world, positive is
negative, left is right and time runs backwards.” This other universe would be
"made of antimatter rather than matter."
The third explanation is that ANITA is on the fritz and it’s
a malfunction. But the second explanation is definitely the coolest.
Does this mean there’s another you out there, aging in
reverse, walking backwards, sleeping all day and working all night? Unfortunately,
that isn’t how it works. As mentioned in one of three research papers on the
subject, this may be evidence of a
“CPT
symmetric universe,” where time would run backwards from the
Big Bang and where "antimatter would dominate.” This isn't our universe, but a universe. No little doppelgängers running around Bizzaro World. Not as cool and way
more complicated for us non-astrophysicists to wrap our heads around.
Ibrahim Safa, lead author on the paper, clarified his
comments on Twitter after learning that a few publications heard the “parallel universes”
line and took it to mean a full Upside Down-like universe. Not only is it
extremely unlikely, but it's also a gross generalization of astrophysics.
One of the other papers suggests that an optical dector in
the South Pole called IceCube didn’t detect any of these energy particles (called
neutrinos), chalking it up to the new physics explanation. It could also be a
misinterpretation of how Antarctic ice works -- what a letdown.
More research is needed, but I think what we can infer here
is that in such difficult times, we want a wacky explanation that is easier on our brains than “new physics.” But hey, we still have UFOs and murder hornets, not to mention a global pandemic! What
a wild 2020 it has been thus far. When do the vampire monkeys invade?
