They’re halfway there! It’s midwinter at the South Pole, and they’re celebrating. […]
News
IceCube at ICRC2013
With nearly fifty presentations and posters, the IceCube Collaboration will contribute heavily to the International Cosmic Ray Conference (ICRC), which begins today in Rio de Janerio, Brazil. […]
Week 24 at the Pole
It was the first winter open mic session and IceCube winterover Felipe was behind his drums and cymbals. They really do have everything down there, don’t they? […]
Week 23 at the Pole
Could they ever tire of viewing auroras at the Pole? Hmm, not sure. But regardless, they do have other things to do besides stare up at the sky. First, there’s work. Then, there are extracurricular activities. … […]
Week 22 at the Pole
A green sky flecked with swirling patterns of white lines. That’s what you get from sixty 30-second exposures taken through a ceiling dome at the South Pole station and made into a composite image. The IceCube winterovers have been capturing some amazing photos at the South Pole. […]
Week 21 at the Pole
Antarctica is often described as the coldest, driest, and windiest place on earth. Cold and dry might be hard to discern from photos, but windy? These flags give it away—here, they’re taking a real beating. The group photo below (also with flags flapping away) was orchestrated to commemorate the invention of the Ethernet 40 years ago (they’re posing with a long Ethernet cable held between themselves). The photo garnered a response from the inventor himself, Bob Metcalfe, then at Xerox PARC. […]
The cosmic-ray Moon shadow seen by IceCube
A recent measurement of the Moon shadow in TeV cosmic rays with the IceCube telescope sets an upper limit on the detector’s absolute pointing accuracy to 0.2 degrees. The IceCube Collaboration presents these results in a paper submitted today to Physical Review D. […]
Week 20 at the Pole
There was plenty of action this week at the Pole, indoors and out. Inside there was crocheting and a 5K race. Outside the auroras continued, bigger and brighter than ever. […]
First observation of high-energy neutrino oscillations by DeepCore and IceCube
The IceCube Neutrino Observatory, which comprises the IceCube and DeepCore detectors, has been designed to contribute heavily to our understanding of neutrino physics. In a paper submitted today to Physical Review Letters, the IceCube Collaboration has announced the first statistically significant detection of neutrino oscillations in the high-energy region (20–100 GeV). […]
Week 19 at the Pole
The aurora season is in full swing at the South Pole, as exemplified by this photo taken of the ARO (Atmospheric Research Observatory) building, bathed in a green glow. ARO is an NSF facility that supports long-term climate research programs. The building is located about 500 m from the main station and, like other outlying buildings, has no running water or sewage system. Hmm, guess you’re not making ice cream out there. But, back at the station, it looks like the IceCube winterovers’ foray into ice cream making continues—flavor of the week: Aurora Green Tea with Fresh Lavender. […]