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IceCube Neutrino Observatory
2010-12-18 - 2030-12-18
The IceCube Neutrino Observatory (or simply IceCube) is a neutrino observatory constructed at the Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station in Antarctica, the project is a recognized CERN experiment (RE10).
Its thousands of sensors are located under the Antarctic ice, distributed over a cubic kilometre. Similar to its predecessor, the Antarctic Muon And Neutrino Detector Array (AMANDA), IceCube consists of spherical optical sensors called Digital Optical Modules (DOMs), each with a photomultiplier tube (PMT) and a single-board data acquisition computer which sends digital data to the counting house on the surface above the array. IceCube was completed on 18 December 2010. DOMs are deployed on strings of 60 modules each at depths between 1,450 and 2,450 meters into holes melted in the ice using a hot water drill. IceCube is designed to look for point sources of neutrinos in the teraelectronvolt (TeV) range to explore the highest-energy astrophysical processes. In November 2013 it was announced that IceCube had detected 28 neutrinos that likely originated outside the Solar System.
Links:
IceCube Neutrino Observatory
IceCube: the coolest way to detect neutrinos (TV The Royal Institution)
IceCube: the coolest way to detect neutrinos
ANITA experiment
Our galaxy seen through a new lens: neutrinos detected by IceCube
[LIVE] Observation of high-energy neutrinos from the Galactic plane

Isaac Newton – geboortedag (1643) 2026
2026-01-04
Isaac Newton (Woolsthorpe-by-Colsterworth, 4 januari 1643 – Kensington, 31 maart 1727) was een Engelse natuurkundige, wiskundige, astronoom, natuurfilosoof, alchemist, officieel muntmeester en theoloog.
In de wiskunde ontdekte hij onder meer de differentiaalrekening en de integraalrekening (met Leibniz) en verder het Binomium van Newton en benaderingsmethoden. In zijn hoofdwerk Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica uit 1687 beschreef Newton onder andere de zwaartekracht en de drie wetten van Newton, waarmee hij de grondlegger van de klassieke mechanica werd. Op het gebied van optica schreef hij het standaardwerk Opticks, vond hij de Newtontelescoop uit en ontwikkelde hij een theorie over kleuren, gebaseerd op het prisma, dat van wit licht een zichtbaar spectrum maakt. Hij bestudeerde ook de geluidssnelheid. Volgens een peiling uit 2005 beschouwden leden van de Britse Royal Society Newton als de grootste geleerde in de hele geschiedenis van de wetenschap. Anders dan Albert Einstein was Newton naast theoreticus ook een briljant experimentator.
Links:
Newton project: Handschriften en transcripties van Newton
Cambridge Digital Library, gedigitaliseerde notitieboeken van Newton
Dictionary of scientific biography
Newton, Principia Mathematica: publicatie (1687)

Measurement of a lithium plume from the uncontrolled re-entry of a Falcon 9 rocket - publication
2026-02-19
A 10-fold enhancement of lithium atoms was detected at 96 km altitude by a resonance lidar at Kühlungsborn, Germany, approximately 20 hours after the uncontrolled re-entry of a Falcon 9 upper stage.
The upper-atmospheric extension of the ICOsahedral Nonhydrostatic (ICON – a unified modeling system for global numerical weather prediction and climate studies) general circulation model, nudged to ECMWF, was used to calculate winds. Backwards trajectories, including wind variability as measured by radar, traced air masses to the Falcon 9 re-entry path at 100 km altitude, west of Ireland. The study ‘Measurement of a lithium plume from the uncontrolled re-entry of a Falcon 9 rocket‘ presents the first measurement of upper-atmospheric pollution resulting from space debris re-entry and the first observational evidence that the ablation of space debris can be detected by ground-based lidar. The analysis of geomagnetic conditions, atmospheric dynamics, and ionospheric measurements supports the claim that the enhancement was not of natural origin. Our findings demonstrate that identifying pollutants and tracing them to their sources is achievable, with significant implications for monitoring and mitigating space emissions in the atmosphere.
Links:
Metals from spacecraft reentry in stratospheric aerosol particles – publication

Biomedical Feature The Millisecond That Could Change Cancer Treatment : FLASH therapy - publication
2026-03-06 | CERN, CERN, Espl. des Particules 1, Meyrin, Zwitserland
FLASH Radiotherapy uses a precise burst of ultrahigh-power radiation to kill tumors and spare healthy tissue.
Links:
Biomedical Feature The Millisecond That Could Change Cancer Treatment

Joint March Meeting and April Meeting: APS Global Physics Summit 2026
2026-03-16 - 2026-03-20
The APS Global Physics Summit is the largest physics research conference in the world, uniting 14,000 scientific community members across all disciplines of physics.
This meeting reflects the inclusivity and synergy of many physics disciplines and emerging cross-disciplinary areas of science, which perfectly reflects this year’s theme of Science for a Shared Future.
Links:
Joint March Meeting and April Meeting: APS Global Physics Summit 2026

BASE experiment at CERN succeeds in transporting antimatter - publication
2026-03-24
The experiment successfully transported a trap filled with antiprotons across CERN’s main site, a remarkable first step towards delivering antimatter to other European laboratories.
a team of scientists from the BASE experiment at CERN successfully transported a trap filled with antiprotons in a truck across the Laboratory’s main site. The team managed to accumulate a cloud of 92 antiprotons in an innovative portable cryogenic Penning trap, then disconnect it from the experimental facility, load it onto a truck and continue experiment operation after transport. This is a remarkable achievement, given that antimatter is very difficult to preserve, as it annihilates upon contact with matter. This world premiere is a test, the ultimate aim being to transport antiprotons to other European laboratories, such as Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf (HHU), where very-high-precision measurements of the antiproton properties could be performed. Antimatter is a naturally occurring class of particles that is almost identical to ordinary matter except that the electric charge and magnetic moment are reversed. According to the laws of physics, the Big Bang should have produced equal amounts of matter and antimatter. These equal-but-opposite particles would have quickly annihilated each other, leaving an empty Universe. However, our Universe contains predominantly matter, and this imbalance has baffled scientists for decades. Physicists suspect that there are hidden differences that may explain why matter survived and antimatter all but disappeared.
Links:
BASE experiment at CERN succeeds in transporting antimatter
BASE-STEP to attempt to move antimatter across several kilometres for the first time

#WorldQuantumDay Wereld Quantum Dag 2026
2026-04-14
Wereld Quantum Dag (WQD), ook wel Wereldkwantumdag en World Quantum Day, is een internationaal evenement dat elk jaar op 14 april wordt gevierd en heeft als doel het publieke begrip van kwantumwetenschap en kwantumtechnologie over de hele wereld te bevorderen.
De datum 14 april werd gekozen omdat “4.14” de afgeronde eerste 3 cijfers van de constante van Planck zijn (4,14×10-15 eV·s), die een belangrijke rol speelt in kwantummechanische effecten. Het wereldwijde initiatief wordt ondersteund door het Wereld Quantum Dag coördinatie team, samen met vertegenwoordigers uit meer dan 65 landen.
Links:
World Quantum Day

Satellite quantification of enhanced methane oxidation applied to the stratospheric plume following Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai eruption - publicatie / publication
2026-05-07
Een internationaal onderzoeksteam onder leiding van het KNMI heeft voor het eerst overtuigend aangetoond dat methaan — een belangrijk broeikasgas — in de atmosfeer op een natuurlijke manier kan worden afgebroken door chloor.
Deze ontdekking werd gedaan dankzij een mengsel van zout en as in de enorme rookpluim van de Hunga Tonga–Hunga Ha’apai-vulkaanuitbarsting van januari 2022, een van de krachtigste uitbarstingen in recente decennia. De resultaten, gepubliceerd in het artikel ‘Satellite quantification of enhanced methane oxidation applied to the stratospheric plume following Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai eruption‘, zijn gebaseerd op satellietmetingen en bieden nieuwe inzichten in hoe de atmosfeer zichzelf zuivert — en wat dat kan betekenen voor de aanpak van klimaatverandering.
Links:
Vulkaan Tonga toont voor het eerst natuurlijke katalytische afbraak van methaan door vulkaanas in de atmosfeer
