Using an observatory under construction deep beneath the Mediterranean Sea near Sicily, scientists have detected a ghostly subatomic particle called a neutrino boasting record-breaking energy in another important step toward understanding some of the universe's most cataclysmic events.

NEW YORK (AP) — A neutrino detector submerged in the Mediterranean Sea has sniffed out the most energetic ghost particle yet, scientists reported Wednesday. The newly detected neutrino is around 30 times more active than the previous recordholder. Scientists think it came from outside the Milky Way galaxy but its exact source remains a mystery.

A neutrino with 30 times more energy than any previously seen on Earth was detected by an unfinished observatory at the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea after travelling from beyond this galaxy, scientists said Wednesday.

A “ghost particle” discovered by a detector in the Mediterranean carried 30 times more energy than any neutrino observed to date

What we have discovered is, we think, the most energetic neutrino ever recorded on Earth,” said Paul de Jong, a physicist at the University of Amsterdam and current spokesperson for the global collaboration of roughly 350 scientists who were involved in the discovery.