Listen: Team hunts for ‘ghost particles’ from the cosmos
On a new podcast, an astrophysicist digs into the launch of NASA balloon to detect high-energy particles from the cosmos. Deep beneath the ice of Antarctica and high above its frozen expanse, University of Chicago astrophysicist Abby Vieregg is hunting for neutrinos—some of the most elusive particles in the universe. Often called “ghost particles,” these tiny messengers travel across billions of…
An astrophysicist from the University of Chicago, Abby Vieregg, is exploring the launch of a NASA balloon mission to detect high-energy particles from the cosmos. Deep within Antarctica's ice and above its frozen landscape, Vieregg is searching for neutrinos, some of the most elusive particles in the universe. Referred to as "ghost particles," these tiny messengers journey across billions of light-years, passing through ordinary matter undetected.
Vieregg is part of a team of scientists investigating high-energy neutrinos, a field of study that earned the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physics. On a recent episode of the Big Brains podcast, she shared her team's methods for creating and launching advanced radio detectors - from high-altitude NASA balloons over the South Pole to large-scale ice-drilling arrays in Greenland.
These enigmatic cosmic signals, according to Vieregg, offer invaluable insights into black holes, stellar explosions, and the fundamental laws of physics that govern our universe.
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