'Telescope' buried a mile under the Antarctic ice to find source of cosmic rays

" For the past ten years scientists have been planning and building an ambitious experiment to explain the mystery of what produces the cosmic rays and elusive particles known as neutrinos, which constantly pepper our planet.
They have buried thousands of sensors more than a mile below the surface of Antarctica's ice cap to record fleeting flashes of blue light that are given off when these high energy particles and rays collide with atoms in the ice.
By recording the pattern of light from the collisions, the sensors can plot the trajectory of the particles and rays, allowing scientists to pinpoint where in the galaxy they came from.
Analysis has already begun of results from the $271 million (£169 million) IceCube Neutrino Observatory - described by scientists as a "telescope" - although the last of its sensors is not due to be installed until December.
It has revealed a hot spot of galactic cosmic rays coming from an area close to the constellation of Vela, which appears in the shape of a ship's sail in the skies of the southern hemisphere. It is known to be an area of space that emits large amounts of radiation throughout the galaxy.
Scientists now hope that when the observatory is finally completed, they will be able to accurately identify what is responsible for the stream of high energy cosmic rays and neutrinos that pass through the galaxy."
via Telegraph / read more