World's largest neutrino detector to track supernova blasts

The IceCube Neutrino Observatory, the world’s largest neutrino detector located at the South Pole, has been significantly upgraded with the addition of six new strings containing over 650 advanced photodetectors and calibration devices. These new modules, called multi-PMT digital optical modules (mDOMs), provide a 360-degree view and are housed in football-shaped containers. The upgrade enhances the detector’s sensitivity and resolution by increasing the density of sensors embedded nearly 8,000 feet deep in Antarctic ice, allowing for more precise measurements of neutrino direction, energy, and origin. This improvement is expected to deepen understanding of neutrinos, elusive particles that rarely interact with matter, and the Antarctic ice itself. The enhanced IceCube system will enable scientists to detect neutrinos at lower energies than before, expanding the scope of neutrino astronomy and opening new windows into cosmic phenomena such as supernova blasts and high-energy cosmic rays. The upgrade, completed between December 2025 and January 2026 by