A record-shattering particle from deep space may have exposed some of the universe’s most extreme black hole engines. A mysterious particle from deep space has scientists buzzing after the most energetic neutrino ever detected slammed through the Mediterranean Sea. Now, researchers think they may have identified the cosmic “culprits” behind it: blazars — supermassive black holes blasting jets of matter straight toward Earth.

Three years ago, scientists detected something extraordinary deep beneath the Mediterranean Sea: the most energetic cosmic neutrino ever observed. The particle carried an astonishing energy of around 220 PeV, more than ten times greater than previously detected high energy neutrinos, and researchers still do not know exactly where it came from.

Now, a new study published in the Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics (JCAP) suggests the particle may have originated from blazars, some of the universe’s most extreme objects. Blazars are active galactic nuclei powered by supermassive black holes that shoot enormous jets of plasma directly toward Earth.