Ever since high-energy astrophysical neutrinos were first observed in 2013, the IceCube Neutrino Observatory at the South Pole has continued searching for their elusive sources. Thus far, evidence of high-energy neutrino emission has been found from the blazar TXS 0506+056, the active galaxy NGC 1068, and most recently, the Milky Way. Still, neutrino emission from […]
And just like that, summer’s over and winter begins. At the Pole last week, a bunch of winterovers stood out on the ice as the last of the summer personnel boarded their plane headed for McMurdo Station, the first leg of their trip home. Below we see front and back views of the IceCube Lab […]
A white rainbow? Well, yes—it’s also called a fogbow! Fogbows are rarer than rainbows, and guess what—they’re sometimes referred to as “ghost rainbows.” Sound familiar? More and more summer personnel were leaving the Pole last week, as final touches were put in place to winterize IceCube Upgrade equipment. […]
Neutrinos are tiny, nearly massless particles that traverse long distances across the universe, interacting with matter only through the weak force. During their journey through the atmosphere and Earth, they can transform, or “oscillate” from one “flavor”—electron, muon, and tau—to another. This phenomenon has led scientists to conclude that neutrinos have nonzero masses, but despite […]
Neutrinos are chargeless, weakly interacting particles that are able to travel undeflected through the cosmos. The IceCube Neutrino Observatory at the South Pole searches for the sources of these astrophysical neutrinos in order to understand the origin of high-energy particles called cosmic rays and, therefore, how the universe works. IceCube has already shown that neutrinos […]
Cosmic rays are extremely energetic charged particles that zoom through space and bombard the Earth’s atmosphere. Since cosmic rays get diverted by magnetic fields on their way to Earth, tracing their origins is more difficult. However, tiny, nearly massless particles called neutrinos, and photons at similar energies, can be used to trace cosmic rays back […]
What’s so funny? Who knows, but a few IceCube folks shared a good laugh out on the ice before leaving the South Pole last week. There were quite a few departures, as the summer season is winding down. There was also a sizeable incoming group—various flight issues had delayed their arrival to the Pole until […]
This week’s aerial photo from the South Pole features a 360-degree view from above the IceCube Lab, taken with a camera mounted to a kite. Spectacular! It was a busy week as usual at the Pole, with Upgrade and IceCube maintenance teams working to wrap up summer season tasks. There was ARA work as well, […]
Since high-energy astrophysical neutrinos were first observed in 2013, the IceCube Neutrino Observatory at the South Pole has continued searching for their elusive sources. So far, evidence of high-energy neutrino emission has been found from the blazar TXS 0506+056, the active galaxy NGC 1068, and most recently, the Milky Way. Still, neutrino emission from these […]
An aeriel view of the IceCube Lab also shows the IceCube Upgrade drill camp in its current state of summer season activity. The Upgrade team has been working steadily over the summer to prepare for next year’s drilling activities. Last week, a group of IceCubers assisted in getting the IceAct telescopes deployed and operational—as good […]