Astronomers say they've discovered a cosmic ray so powerful that only one gram of the particle would contain enough energy to destroy the Earth in theory.

A group of researchers from Japan, the United States, and six other countries made the announcement at a news conference.

The researchers said a detector picked up something super energetic in May of 2021.

It was so strong that at first it was thought to be a mistake.

But it turned out to be the second-most powerful cosmic ray ever detected, with an estimated energy of 244 exa-electron volts.

The team dubbed the particle “Amaterasu,” after the sun goddess in Japanese mythology.

Cosmic rays are high-energy subatomic particles that rain down on Earth from outer space.

The source of the Amaterasu particle remains a mystery.

The scientists say it could have been generated by the explosion of a massive star.

But there's nothing like that in the area of space the particle appears to have come from.