ANITA was placed in Antarctica because there is little chance of interference from other signals. To capture the emission signals, the balloon-borne radio detector is sent to fly over stretches of ice, capturing what are called ice showers. Credit: Stephanie Wissel / Penn State

But analysis found the pulses discovered under the ice in Antarctica are ‘anomalous’ meaning they did not match standard particle physics. The Pennsylvania State University is now developing a more powerful detector called PUEO, which could shed more light on what the signals detected are.

Strange pulses that don't seem to abide by the laws of particle physics have been detected in Antarctica. These radio waves, emanating from below the ice, could be evidence of dark matter and have been puzzling scientists since their discovery.