The Shadow of the Moon in IceCube

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates IceCube's ability to detect the Moon's shadow as a deficit in cosmic ray muons, validating its pointing accuracy for neutrino astronomy.

Contribution

It introduces a method to observe the Moon's shadow in IceCube data, confirming the detector's directional precision.

Findings

Successful detection of the Moon's shadow in muon data

Validation of IceCube's pointing accuracy

Method applicable for future astronomical observations

Abstract

IceCube is the world's largest neutrino telescope, recently completed at the South Pole. As a proof of pointing accuracy, we look for the image of the Moon as a deficit in down-going cosmic ray muons, using techniques similar to those used in IceCube's astronomical point-source searches.