It’s always exciting to see the South Pole traverse show up at the Pole. SPOT, as this long, multi-tractored caravan is called, arrived last week bearing essential fuel and cargo. You can see the fuel bladders in the foreground of the image above, which shows off a nice sun halo in the clear sky. This […]
It’s almost the new year, which means it’s time for the 2022 IceCube Calendar! Featuring breathtaking photos taken by our winterovers from the past few years, this calendar will teach you something new about the IceCube Neutrino Observatory and the South Pole every month. The calendar is available to download in two different sizes in either […]
It was a busy week at the Pole. Last year’s IceCube winterovers, Martin and Josh, finally boarded a departing flight after weather delays had caused them to remain at the South Pole longer than planned. They’re in the middle of the image above, with hands up waving goodbye—thanks, Martin and Josh! The rest of the […]
Neutrino astronomy had a pivotal moment in 2013 when the IceCube Collaboration announced that their South Pole neutrino telescope had detected the first evidence of an astrophysical neutrino flux. This was confirmed in 2015 with an independent search in the Northern Hemisphere, also by IceCube. Since then, IceCube and other experiments have learned more about […]
Thanksgiving is a national holiday in the US and as such is celebrated at the South Pole, too (where traditions abound in celebrating many holidays along with all kinds of other things). For Thanksgiving, festivities always include a nice meal in the galley, with tables decked out in formal dinnerware and decorations around the room, […]
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 […]