Scientists put telescope under sea

Scientists put telescope under sea

Scientists from two Yorkshire universities are pioneering a project to put a giant telescope under the sea that looks down towards the centre of the Earth rather than up into the sky.

The experts from Leeds and Sheffield hope to detect neutrinos - tiny particles that travel almost at the speed of light.

Hardly existing at all, the particles have no mass and no charge. They travel to Earth from some of the most extreme regions of the cosmos.

Analysis will help confirm the existence of dark matter, which is thought to make up 90% of the missing mass of the Universe.

The telescope will be placed one-and-half miles beneath the surface of the Mediterranean Sea, attached to the sea bed by weights.

Dr Lee Thompson, from the University of Sheffield, said: "The reason that we need to build the telescope under the sea is that the water prevents muons (particles) from cosmic rays in the atmosphere from contaminating our study.

"By looking down the Earth also acts as a filter, as muons that haven't been created from a neutrino will be absorbed before they can get into the study area."