https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-00444-1 Skip to main content Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript. Advertisement Advertisement Nature * View all journals * Search * Log in * Explore content * About the journal * Publish with us * Subscribe * Sign up for alerts * RSS feed 1. nature 2. news 3. article * NEWS * 12 February 2025 Record-breaking neutrino is most energetic ever detected Although still under construction, the sea-floor KM3NeT detector spotted a neutrino 20 times more powerful than any previously detected. By * Davide Castelvecchi 1. Davide Castelvecchi View author publications You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar * Twitter * Facebook * Email Crew members make final inspections of a KM3NeT Detection Unit and Launcher vehicle module before deployed from the ship's deck. Engineers prepare to add a KM3NeT module to the network of sea-floor detectors. Credit: Paschal Coyle/CNRS Astrophysicists have observed the most energetic neutrino ever. The particle -- which probably came from a distant galaxy -- was spotted by the Cubic Kilometre Neutrino Telescope (KM3NeT), a collection of light-detecting glass spheres on the floor of the Mediterranean Sea, on 13 February 2023. Researchers monitoring the telescope did not notice the detection until early 2024, when they completed the first analysis of their data. They unveiled it as a potentially record event last year at a conference in Milan, Italy, but did not disclose details such as the timing, direction or energy of the neutrino. "We had to convince ourselves that it wasn't something strange or weird with the telescope," says Paschal Coyle, a neutrino physicist at Aix-Marseille University in France and KM3NeT spokesperson. The result was published on 12 February in Nature^1, and will be described in four preprints due to be posted on the arXiv preprint server. High-energy neutrinos Neutrinos are electrically neutral particles more than one million times lighter than an electron. They are typically produced in nuclear reactions such as those at the centre of the Sun, from which they emerge with energies on the order of millions of electronvolts (10^6 eV). But for more than 10 years, researchers have been recording neutrinos carrying unprecedented energies of up to several quadrillion electronvolts (10^15 eV, or 1 petaelectronvolt), which are thought to originate in distant galaxies. (The most energetic particle ever detected, at 320,000 PeV, was not a neutrino but a cosmic ray dubbed the Oh-My-God particle.) [d41586-025] 'Fantastic' particle could be most energetic neutrino ever detected KM3NeT consists of strings of sensitive light detectors anchored to the sea floor at a depth of around 3,500 metres off the coast of the Italian island of Sicily, as well as in a second, smaller array near Toulon, France. These sensors pick up light emitted by high-energy, electrically charged particles such as muons. Muons are continuously raining down on Earth's surface, because they are produced when cosmic rays hit air molecules. But occasionally, a cosmic neutrino that smashes into the planet's surface also produces a muon. In the February 2023 event detected by the Sicily observatory, the team estimated that the muon carried 120 PeV of energy, on the basis of the unusual amount of light it produced. The particle's path was close to horizontal with respect to Earth's surface and travelled eastwards, towards Greece. SEA-FLOOR SENSORS. Graphic showing the trajectory of the particle detected by the Cubic Kilometre Neutrino Telescope. Source: Ref. 1Source: Aiello, S. et al. Nature 638, 376-382 (2025). Enjoying our latest content? Login or create an account to continue * Access the most recent journalism from Nature's award-winning team * Explore the latest features & opinion covering groundbreaking research Access through your institution or Sign in or create an account # Continue with Google # Continue with ORCiD doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-025-00444-1 Read the related News & Views: Neutrino barrels through deep waters near Sicily References 1. The KM3NeT Collaboration Nature https://doi.org/10.1038/ s41586-024-08543-1 (2025). Article Google Scholar Download references Reprints and permissions Related Articles * [d41586-025] The most powerful cosmic ray since the Oh-My-God particle puzzles scientists * [d41586-025] 'Fantastic' particle could be most energetic neutrino ever detected * [d41586-025] The most unusual portrait of the Milky Way yet: mapping the Galaxy with neutrinos * [d41586-025] A supernova could light up the Milky Way at any time. Astronomers will be watching Subjects * Astronomy and astrophysics Latest on: Astronomy and astrophysics X-ray telescope casts a sharper gaze on galaxy clusters X-ray telescope casts a sharper gaze on galaxy clusters News & Views 12 FEB 25 Observation of an ultra-high-energy cosmic neutrino with KM3NeT Observation of an ultra-high-energy cosmic neutrino with KM3NeT Article 12 FEB 25 The bulk motion of gas in the core of the Centaurus galaxy cluster The bulk motion of gas in the core of the Centaurus galaxy cluster Article 12 FEB 25 Nature Careers Jobs * Assistant Professor UBC Physics and Astronomy at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver seeks candidates for up to two tenure-track faculty positions. Greater Vancouver, British Columbia (CA) Department of Physics and Astronomy - University of British Columbia [] * Postdoctoral Associate Genetics Postdoc to develop therapeutic RNAs, focus on mRNA stability, translation, and gene therapy. RNA biology, genomics, and computational biology skills. New Haven, Connecticut Yale University - Giraldez lab * Locum Associate or Senior Editor, BMC Pediatrics As an Associate or Senior Editor, you will contribute to the success of the BMC Series by handling editorial content for BMC Pediatrics. London or Heidelberg - Hybrid working model Springer Nature Ltd [] * Full Professorship (W3) in Molecular Biophysics (f/m/d, tenured) The Heidelberg Institute for Theoretical Studies (HITS gGmbH) and the Interdisciplinary Center for Scientific Computing (IWR) in cooperation with t... Heidelberg, Baden-Wurttemberg (DE) Universitat Heidelberg [] * Postdoctor in Molecular Metabolism The Institute of Biomedicine is involved in both research and education. In both of these areas, we focus on fundamental knowledge of the living ce... Gothenburg (Stad), Vastra Gotaland (SE) University of Gothenburg [] Related Articles * [d41586-025] The most powerful cosmic ray since the Oh-My-God particle puzzles scientists * [d41586-025] 'Fantastic' particle could be most energetic neutrino ever detected * [d41586-025] The most unusual portrait of the Milky Way yet: mapping the Galaxy with neutrinos * [d41586-025] A supernova could light up the Milky Way at any time. Astronomers will be watching Subjects * Astronomy and astrophysics Advertisement Sign up to Nature Briefing An essential round-up of science news, opinion and analysis, delivered to your inbox every weekday. Email address [ ] [ ] Yes! Sign me up to receive the daily Nature Briefing email. I agree my information will be processed in accordance with the Nature and Springer Nature Limited Privacy Policy. Sign up Close Nature Briefing Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter -- what matters in science, free to your inbox daily. Email address [ ] Sign up [ ] I agree my information will be processed in accordance with the Nature and Springer Nature Limited Privacy Policy. Close Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing Explore content * Research articles * News * Opinion * Research Analysis * Careers * Books & Culture * Podcasts * Videos * Current issue * Browse issues * Collections * Subjects * Follow us on Facebook * Follow us on Twitter * Subscribe * Sign up for alerts * RSS feed About the journal * Journal Staff * About the Editors * Journal Information * Our publishing models * Editorial Values Statement * Journal Metrics * Awards * Contact * Editorial policies * History of Nature * Send a news tip Publish with us * For Authors * For Referees * Language editing services * Submit manuscript Search Search articles by subject, keyword or author [ ] Show results from [All journals] Search Advanced search Quick links * Explore articles by subject * Find a job * Guide to authors * Editorial policies Nature (Nature) ISSN 1476-4687 (online) ISSN 0028-0836 (print) nature.com sitemap About Nature Portfolio * About us * Press releases * Press office * Contact us Discover content * Journals A-Z * Articles by subject * protocols.io * Nature Index Publishing policies * Nature portfolio policies * Open access Author & Researcher services * Reprints & permissions * Research data * Language editing * Scientific editing * Nature Masterclasses * Research Solutions Libraries & institutions * Librarian service & tools * Librarian portal * Open research * Recommend to library Advertising & partnerships * Advertising * Partnerships & Services * Media kits * Branded content Professional development * Nature Careers * Nature Conferences Regional websites * Nature Africa * Nature China * Nature India * Nature Italy * Nature Japan * Nature Middle East * Privacy Policy * Use of cookies * Your privacy choices/Manage cookies * Legal notice * Accessibility statement * Terms & Conditions * Your US state privacy rights Springer Nature (c) 2025 Springer Nature Limited