Russia’s Neutrino Detector: A New Realm of High-Energy Particle Physics
Scientists in Russia recently launched a new telescope designed to detect heavy particles coming from all across the galaxy, moving us closer than ever to understanding extreme astrophysics.
Setup view of the Antares Neutrino Telescope, François Montanet Via Wikimedia Commons Some of the biggest mysteries in modern astronomy involve the emission of neutrinos, including high-energy astrophysical events like supernovae and black hole formation that also emit high-energy light in the form of gamma rays. These neutrinos are subatomic particles that interact very weakly with their surroundings, so they can only be observed using very sensitive telescopes, complicating the process to observe them. To further the studies of extreme phenomena like black holes, rapidly-rotating neutron stars called pulsars, and galaxy merger events, where two galaxies collide, scientists in Russia...
