Iron-60 in Antarctic Ice Reveals Solar System's Passage Through Interstellar Cloud

Researchers studying Antarctic ice cores have discovered traces of the rare iron isotope iron-60, which provides insights into Earth's movement through the cosmos. Iron-60 is produced in extreme events like supernova explosions and cannot form naturally on Earth in significant amounts. The team, led by nuclear astrophysicist Dominik Koll, found iron-60 in ice cores dating from 40,000 to 81,000 years ago, as well as in recent snowfall, indicating the Solar System has been passing through a cloud of supernova debris. By analyzing 295 kilograms of Antarctic ice, the researchers identified variations in iron-60 concentrations, suggesting that the Local Interstellar Cloud through which the Solar System moves has regions of differing density. This ice core record effectively serves as a 'flight log' of Earth's journey through this cloud over the past 80,000 years. The study supports the idea that the Local Interstellar Cloud may be composed of material from supernova events and highlights the potential for using isotopes in ice to map interstellar environments. The findings were published in Physical Review Letters, providing a new method to study the structure and history of cosmic dust clouds from material available on Earth.

Iron-60 in Antarctic Ice Reveals Solar System's Passage Through Interstellar Cloud

Researchers studying Antarctic ice cores have discovered traces of the rare iron isotope iron-60, which provides insights into Earth's movement through the cosmos. Iron-60 is produced in extreme events like supernova explosions and cannot form naturally on Earth in significant amounts. The team, led by nuclear astrophysicist Dominik Koll, found iron-60 in ice cores dating from 40,000 to 81,000 years ago, as well as in recent snowfall, indicating the Solar System has been passing through a cloud of supernova debris. By analyzing 295 kilograms of Antarctic ice, the researchers identified variations in iron-60 concentrations, suggesting that the Local Interstellar Cloud through which the Solar System moves has regions of differing density. This ice core record effectively serves as a 'flight log' of Earth's journey through this cloud over the past 80,000 years. The study supports the idea that the Local Interstellar Cloud may be composed of material from supernova events and highlights the potential for using isotopes in ice to map interstellar environments. The findings were published in Physical Review Letters, providing a new method to study the structure and history of cosmic dust clouds from material available on Earth.

Deep under Antarctic ice, a long-predicted cosmic whisper finally breaks through in 13 strange bursts

A detector buried deep in Antarctic ice has captured the first experimental evidence of a predicted but never-before-seen phenomenon: radio pulses generated when high-energy cosmic rays slam into the ice sheet and trigger particle cascades inside it. Through results published in Physical Review Letters, astronomers of the Askaryan Radio Array (ARA) Collaboration have validated a key technique, which they hope will eventually allow them to detect some of the rarest and most energetic particles in the universe.

Uploads by OptimusPrimeBot - Wikimedia Commons

Uploads by OptimusPrimeBot - Wikimedia Commons

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IceCube Neutrino Observatory - Wikipedia

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How Sea Ice Blew the Socks off Scientists | The-14

Not all Antarctic sea ice is the same. And the finer details are what scientists need to know more about to understand its impact on the climate system Where sea ice is (and isn’t) Because of the vast area occupied by the ice, satellite measurements hold the key to large-scale monitoring. Since 1978 researchers have