The IceCube Neutrino Observatory, a massive astroparticle physics experiment located at the South Pole, is the subject of the final chapter in a new documentary, “Messengers,” from Canadian director Jeffrey Zablotny. The film is a poetic, immersive exploration of three neutrino detectors: SNO+ in Canada, Super-Kamiokande in Japan, and IceCube at the South Pole. The […]
The sun is now below the horizon, but there’s still plenty of light. Most of us experience this period of twilight, where the sun transitions from day to night, over the course of an hour or so each day, but at the South Pole this change stretches over weeks and happens only once a year. […]
The lowering sun at the South Pole made for some great photos last week. Above, the sun itself is blocked by the ceremonial Pole marker, but its light shines through the US flag just behind the marker. IceCube winterover Ilya took advantage of the clear days last week to get out and capture these nice […]
This story was originally published by the College of Arts and Sciences at Drexel University. Drexel Physics alum Stephen Sclafani, PhD ’23, is the recipient of the American Physical Society’s Ceclia Payne-Gaposchkin Doctoral Dissertation Award in Astrophysics. This award recognizes doctoral thesis research in astrophysics and encourages effective written and oral presentation of research results. Sclafani was recognized for […]
A nice halo surrounds the lowering sun at the Pole, with some mistiness along the horizon. Sun halos, also called 22-degree halos, can appear in clear skies, too, as it’s the crystals in the high cirrus clouds that refract the light in this way. IceCube winterover Ilya captured another nice outdoor photo below, showing the […]
Ah, the waning days of summer, when the shadows cast by the lowering sun lengthen with each passing day. Here we see the photographer’s shadow as they capture a view of the station from the berms. Last week at the Pole was relatively quiet for IceCube’s winterovers. Both Ilya and Joe are on the emergency […]
Neutrinos are weakly interacting particles that are able to travel unhindered through the cosmos. The IceCube Neutrino Observatory, embedded in a cubic kilometer of Antarctic ice, searches for neutrinos and captures them at different energies. By measuring the entire spectrum of astrophysical neutrinos, scientists can gain insights into the origin and acceleration mechanisms of highly […]
A small plane found itself parked in behind some other aircraft at the South Pole last week, but it was next in line to depart. Instead of moving the planes in front of it out of the way, they found a simpler solution by attaching the tail wheel of the plane to a bulldozer and […]
Over the years, the IceCube Neutrino Observatory at the South Pole has collected an abundant amount of muons and neutrinos produced in the Earth’s atmosphere. These neutrinos are produced when high-energy particles called cosmic rays collide with atoms in the Earth’s atmosphere and produce “air showers” that rain down on Earth. Previous studies showed that […]
The station is technically closed for the winter season, but there are still some Basler planes (and their pilots) transitioning from other Antarctic research stations that have stopped temporarily at the South Pole. IceCube winterovers Joe and Ilya were busy last week finishing up various outdoor tasks before the weather becomes too cold. Below the […]