Last week kept IceCube’s newest winterovers busy, but not too busy, with a number of activities. Johannes was on call, and got his first page to deal with a detector issue, but not too big of a problem. Both winterovers were trained on the PistenBully, or snowcat, and then drove around to the IceTop stations to take snow height measurements.
In a critical measurement that may one day help predict new physics beyond the Standard Model of particle physics, an international team of researchers with the IceCube Neutrino Observatory has shown how energized neutrinos can be stopped cold as they pass through the Earth. The new measurement is reported today in the journal Nature.
Flight canceled? Well, that happens. But, canceled … again? Welcome to plane travel at the Pole. The changeable weather patterns in the harsh climate of Antarctica make flights in and out susceptible to delays. It’s part and parcel of the whole experience.
Lots of firsts as a new summer season begins at the South Pole. Last week saw the first LC-30 to arrive, seen here as it’s being marshaled in and later after landing and releasing a group of red parkas onto the ice, the first group of many to come. The changing-of-the-guard period at the Pole has begun.
Shoveling snow might not be that much fun, but at least at the South Pole, afterward you can walk away with a pretty “epic” beard, as the winterovers recently put it. Well, if you have a beard to begin with, that is.
After a long, cold winter at the South Pole, it might be hard to decide which is more exciting: the first plane of the season or its contents. Apparently, people get pretty excited at the sight of a bowl of tangerines after going without any fresh fruit for eight or nine months.
IceCube is proud and excited to be a part of the Wisconsin Science Festival this year. The Discovery Expo will take place at the Discovery Building and will begin on Thursday, November 2nd.