Gravitational waves (GWs) are produced by some of the most extreme astrophysical phenomena, such as black hole and neutron star mergers. They have long been suspected as astrophysical sources of neutrinos, ghostlike cosmic messengers hurtling through space unimpeded. Thus far, common astrophysical sources of neutrinos and photons, as well as common sources of gravitational waves […]
When a star reaches the end of its thermonuclear evolution, it explodes, giving rise to neutron stars and black holes. Called core-collapse supernovae (CCSNe), these explosions are triggered by the implosion of the dying star’s core. The ejecta from the CCSN can then interact with the dense circumstellar medium where charged particles can be accelerated. […]
The sun has finally gone below the horizon at the Pole, not to peek back up again for another six months or so. IceCube’s winterovers spent some time early in the week finishing up outdoor work in the fading light. Although the weather was rather bad last week, there were a few nice hours of […]
On October 9th, 2022, an unusually bright pulse of high-energy radiation whizzed past Earth, captivating astronomers around the world. The luminous emission came from a gamma-ray burst (GRB), one of the most powerful classes of explosions in the universe. Named GRB 221009A, it triggered detectors at NASA’s Gamma-ray Burst Monitor and Large Area Telescope (both on […]
Where is the horizon? Well, it must be there somewhere, hidden between the white of the snow on the ground and the white of the cloudy sky above. These winterovers were posing at the ceremonial Pole during a recent “sunset stroll,” which was technically a 3K race but one that could be done in a […]
The spring IceCube Collaboration meeting wrapped up last week in Aachen, Germany, which was hosted by RWTH Aachen University. Over 200 members of the IceCube community attended the meeting either in person or virtually. For the second straight year since the pandemic began, the biannual collaboration meeting was held in person, with virtual offerings for […]
The results of the tenth edition of the IceCube Impact Awards were announced this week at IceCube’s spring collaboration meeting in Aachen, Germany. During the ceremony, IceCube spokesperson Ignacio Taboada gave each recipient a certificate and mug to commemorate their achievements while those who could not attend joined virtually. The awardees are Cristina Lagunas Gualda […]
IceCube winterover Marc stationed himself nicely to get this photo of the sun setting behind the ceremonial South Pole. He photographed it from a distance last month, under clear skies when the sun was still high. But you don’t need a month for the environment to look different. The two photos below of the IceCube […]
Atmospheric muons and neutrinos are the most abundant signals detected in IceCube. They are produced in cosmic-ray-induced air showers in the Earth’s atmosphere. Cosmic rays are high-energy protons and heavier nuclei traveling through space. When these cosmic rays reach Earth and collide with atoms in the atmosphere, they create an avalanche-like cascade of secondary particles […]
Every second, about 100 trillion neutrinos pass through your body unnoticed. At the South Pole, the IceCube Neutrino Observatory detects these elusive particles and works to identify their astronomical origins to help unlock mysteries of the universe. Such an undertaking requires a massive amount of data, with one terabyte of data recorded daily by IceCube. […]