Konstantin Sukharnikov Scientific instrumentation

A hobby. An independent overview compiled from public sources by a science and space enthusiast. I am not involved in these missions or facilities; my own work is detector electronics at European XFEL. My projects →

Facility · Neutrinos

IceCube Neutrino Observatory (with Upgrade and Gen2)

Cherenkov neutrino telescope in a cubic kilometre of ice

Status
Operating
Location
South Pole, Antarctica
Operator
IceCube Collaboration, NSF, UW–Madison
Next
First IceCube Upgrade data; Gen2 in planning

Summary

A cubic kilometre of Antarctic ice instrumented with about 5,000 optical modules. It discovered high-energy astrophysical neutrinos (2013) and the first sources (TXS 0506+056, NGC 1068, the Galactic plane).

Now as of 4 Nov 2026

The 2026 Nobel Prize in Physics went to Francis Halzen "for his decisive contributions to the creation of the IceCube Neutrino Observatory and the discovery of high-energy neutrinos of astrophysical origin" (announced 6 October 2026) — Nobel Prize, Physics World. IceCube Upgrade was deployed in the 2025/26 season: construction finished in January 2026 and first data are coming in (UW News, IceCube-Gen2, May 2026). Sources differ on the number of new strings (six or seven).

Key dates

  1. Dec 2010IceCube construction completeddone
  2. 2013Discovery of astrophysical neutrinosdone
  3. Jan 2026IceCube Upgrade deployment completeddone
  4. 6 Oct 2026Nobel Prize in Physics for Francis Halzendone