IceCube catches ghost particles with 10 billion times the energy of solar neutrinos

IceCube catches ghost particles with 10 billion times the energy of solar neutrinos

IceCube catches ghost particles with 10 billion times the energy of solar neutrinos

The IceCube Neutrino Observatory, buried in about a cubic kilometre of Antarctic ice at the South Pole, detects some of the rarest and most energetic particles in the universe. These cosmic neutrinos, often called ghost particles because they pass through the Earth and the human body almost unhindered, can carry roughly 10 billion times the energy of a typical neutrino from the Sun. Only a few dozen of the most energetic examples are caught each year. When one interacts with the ice it creates charged particles that give off faint blue flashes, known as Cherenkov radiation, which scientists use to estimate its energy and trace its direction. The origin of the most extreme of these particles is still unknown. The work is linked to this year's Nobel Prize in Physics, awarded for the IceCube observatory and the discovery of high-energy neutrinos from space.

The IceCube Neutrino Observatory, buried in about a cubic kilometre of Antarctic ice at the South Pole, detects some of the rarest and most energetic particles in the universe. These cosmic neutrinos, often called ghost particles because they pass through the Earth and the human body almost unhindered, can carry roughly 10 billion times the energy of a typical neutrino from the Sun. Only a few dozen of the most energetic examples are caught each year. When one interacts with the ice it creates charged particles that give off faint blue flashes, known as Cherenkov radiation, which scientists use to estimate its energy and trace its direction. The origin of the most extreme of these particles is still unknown. The work is linked to this year's Nobel Prize in Physics, awarded for the IceCube observatory and the discovery of high-energy neutrinos from space.

The IceCube Neutrino Observatory, buried in about a cubic kilometre of Antarctic ice at the South Pole, detects some of the rarest and most energetic particles in the universe. These cosmic neutrinos, often called ghost particles because they pass through the Earth and the human body almost unhindered, can carry roughly 10 billion times the energy of a typical neutrino from the Sun. Only a few dozen of the most energetic examples are caught each year. When one interacts with the ice it creates charged particles that give off faint blue flashes, known as Cherenkov radiation, which scientists use to estimate its energy and trace its direction. The origin of the most extreme of these particles is still unknown. The work is linked to this year's Nobel Prize in Physics, awarded for the IceCube observatory and the discovery of high-energy neutrinos from space.