The Conversation (0)
Moya Lothian-McLean
May 21, 2020
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NASA really needs to learn about picking their moment.
As if 2020 wasn’t enough already, members of a NASA team decided now was the perfect time to announce they might have found a – and this is a direct quote – “parallel universe going back in time”.
According to the New Scientist, researchers working on the Antarctic Impulsive Transient Antenna (ANITA) project made a curious discovery back in 2016.
Through ANITA – a balloon sent into the stratosphere to look for radio-waves – the team detected a “fountain” of high energy particles.
But rather than coming “down” from space, as is normal, these were seemingly erupting from the Antarctic ice itself.
“What we saw is something that looked just like a cosmic ray, as seen in reflection off the ice sheet, but it wasn’t reflected,” said principal ANITA investigator Peter Gorham.“It was as if the cosmic ray had come out of the ice itself. A very strange thing.”
For four years, the scientists have tried to find an explanation but came up with nothing – which is why they’re now floating the idea that the energy could be courtesy of an idea straight out of HG Wells.
According to the New Scientist report, these findings could suggest the particles were travelling backwards in relation to our concept of time which would line up with the existence of a parallel universe.
Of course, this theory caused quite a stir online.
Actor Armie Hammer edged into InfoWars territory with his take.
Others took a more… relaxed approach.
There were travel plans made…
But some level-headed Twitter users reminded everyone not to pack just yet.
As NASA themselves have said, there’s absolutely no confirmation that a parallel universe exists.
According to scientists, the strange observation is far more likely to be due to a new type of physics; the parallel universe theory is apparently a light-hearted one born of frustration after four years of being unable to properly explain findings.
That puts 2040’s holiday plans on ice.