In 2013, the IceCube Neutrino Observatory detected very high energy particles called neutrinos that arrived at Earth from outer space. Not only did IceCube confirm the existence of astrophysical neutrinos, but they also proved that these elusive particles could be detected by their cubic-kilometer-sized telescope buried in the South Pole ice. Even though IceCube had […]
Last week was busy at the South Pole—and cold, too, even though it’s summer there. There were some “boomerang” flights (where a plane on course must turn around and go back, usually due to weather), leaving last year’s IceCube winterovers stuck at the Pole … just a bit longer. Meanwhile, IceCube’s summer activities went into […]
By Madeleine O’Keefe and Pablo Correa In the constellation Ursa Major, there is a galaxy with the uncanny appearance of a particular dental hygiene tool. Aptly nicknamed the “Toothbrush” galaxy, Mrk 273 is actually a merger of two galaxies and an example of an ultraluminous infrared galaxy (ULIRG). It might be a source of astrophysical […]
Last week, there were a lot of “firsts” for IceCube’s two new winterovers, Moreno and Celas. One of these firsts was doing snow measurements at all the IceCube surface stations, a task done in the summer season when you can see what you’re doing outside. Martin and Josh showed them the ropes as they all […]
Many people think of our sun as being bright. It is an enormous ball of glowing gas that illuminates our days and provides Earth with heat and light. But it is also being explored for signals of something darker: dark matter. Dark matter is not literally dark; it is invisible because it does not interact […]
Last week, Moreno Baricevic and Wenceslas “Celas” Marie-Sainte, IceCube’s two new winterovers for the 2021-2022 season, arrived at the South Pole. They appear in the image above along with Josh Veitch-Michaelis and Martin Wolf, IceCube’s outgoing winterovers. This changing of the guard happens every year, but timing doesn’t always allow for a group-of-4 photo. Before […]
The Wisconsin IceCube Particle Astrophysics Center (WIPAC), a research center that is part of UW–Madison’s Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research and Graduate Education and headquarters for the IceCube Neutrino Observatory, is back at the Holiday Fantasy in Lights event in Madison, Wisconsin! WIPAC participated in the annual holiday exhibit for the first time last year with […]
It’s that time of the year when last year’s winterovers are finally relieved of their duties as a new crew arrives at the South Pole. “Winterover” is the name given to the brave individuals who sign up to live and work at an Antarctic field station for a full year—sometimes longer—half of which is spent […]
The IceCube detector may have been quiet, but there was plenty of other activity last week at the Pole. First up, shoveling snow. IceCube winterovers tackled the mounds of snow that had accumulated on the steps and platforms outside the IceCube Lab. Above is the “after” photo, below is the same spot only a week […]
The IceCube-Gen2 Collaboration recently wrapped up a weeklong kick-off meeting to formalize a technical design report for the project. With over 100 participants and 50 talks, the interdisciplinary workshop brought together scientists and engineers from around the world to discuss the status of design and performance requirements that will lay the foundation for IceCube-Gen2’s technical […]