Observations of neutrinos have shown that they mostly emerged from extragalactic sources such as active galaxies. However, gamma-ray observations show bright emissions from within the Milky Way galaxy. Astrophysical gamma rays and neutrinos are expected to be produced by the same physical processes.
A collaboration of researchers using the U.S. National Science Foundation-supported IceCube Neutrino Observatory at NSF’s Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station in Antarctica recently achieved a small breakthrough: They determined the cosmic origin of thousands of neutrinos—invisible “ghost particles” that exist in large quantities but typically pass straight through Earth undetected—to present a different view of our galaxy.
First of its type, the neutrino-based image of the Milky Way is a galactic portrait created using particles of matter instead of electromagnetic energy. The massive observatory uses thousands of networked sensors buried deep within a cubic kilometer of clear ice to find the minute signals of high-energy neutrinos coming from space.
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