The South Pole sky is starting to show a little color. The sun hasn’t risen yet, but that’s a slow process at the Pole. The three periods of twilight linger for weeks there, with light creeping up over the horizon gradually. Speaking of color, the photo below trumps the horizon photo by a long shot. […]
The so-called “hierarchy problem” remains one of the biggest unresolved questions in modern physics. It asks why the weak force, which governs transformations between different types of quarks, is trillions upon trillions of times stronger than gravity. This discrepancy causes major holes in our theoretical understanding of particle physics. For example, without an explanation for […]
Since high-energy astrophysical neutrinos were first observed by the IceCube Neutrino Observatory in 2013, the IceCube Collaboration has continued hunting for their elusive sources. Thus far, IceCube has found compelling evidence that active galaxies are among the sources of high-energy neutrinos and likely sites of hadronic particle acceleration. While these sources were detected at high […]
All was well at the Pole last week. The moon was shining brightly in its final cycle before the sun rises. IceCube winterovers were busy with their usual work. And the galley staff got a break from their normal workload on community cook day, in which the science group was in charge of preparing lunch […]
Last month, the U.S. National Science Foundation renewed a cooperative agreement with the University of Wisconsin–Madison to manage and operate the NSF IceCube Neutrino Observatory. The five-year, $53 million cooperative agreement entails the continued operation and maintenance of IceCube for the period 2026-2031. “The generous funding will allow us to further improve the performance of […]
A spectacular display of auroras graced the sky above the Pole last week, and IceCube winterover Camille was poised to capture a nice shot. It can be a little challenging to remain still for outdoor photos—for humans, but apparently for the South Pole Telescope, as well, as evidenced below. The week ended on a more […]
It was a relatively quiet and calm week at the Pole. IceCube’s winterovers had some of their usual chores to attend to along with a Zoom call with the new winterovers who will take their place (though not quite yet…). Winterover Alicia was down in the tunnels last week, always an interesting spot to visit. […]
The properties of the interior of the Earth remain one of science’s greatest unsolved mysteries. Despite information from indirect methods, such as seismic and gravitational measurements, used to investigate the Earth’s internal structure, many questions remain unanswered. Atmospheric neutrinos, which are produced in cosmic-ray-induced air showers in the Earth’s atmosphere, are detected by the IceCube […]
It was rather bright last week at the Pole, but it was all moon, no sun. They are still in nautical twilight there, so it will still be a while before the sun actually makes its appearance. Some folks at the Pole are surely ready for it. Even so, look at the auroras below—faint or […]
Twas the night before Christmas, well, Christmas in July, with cookies out for Santa, and a drift of white pillows piled high. Hey, who doesn’t like an extra reason to celebrate something? At the South Pole, they are experts at this, as they love their traditions and continue to add new ones to the list. […]