Story perspectives

KM3NeT Detects Record-Breaking Neutrino; Origins Remain Unclear

4/6/2026

Summary

Story summary

On February 13, 2023, the Kilometer Cube Neutrino Telescope (KM3NeT) detected a neutrino beneath the Mediterranean near Sicily with 220 peta-electron volts.
The neutrino is over 100,000 times more energetic than particles produced in Earth colliders.
Some astrophysicists suggest it may originate from an exploding black hole, a concept theorized by Stephen Hawking.
But KM3NeT cannot determine the neutrino’s direction precisely, leaving room for alternate explanations such as dust-obscured quasars.

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Story summary

On February 13, 2023, the Kilometer Cube Neutrino Telescope (KM3NeT) detected a neutrino beneath the Mediterranean near Sicily with 220 peta-electron volts.
The neutrino is over 100,000 times more energetic than particles produced in Earth colliders.
Some astrophysicists suggest it may originate from an exploding black hole, a concept theorized by Stephen Hawking.
But KM3NeT cannot determine the neutrino’s direction precisely, leaving room for alternate explanations such as dust-obscured quasars.