The IceCube Neutrino Observatory detects a “moon shadow” effect using muons produced by cosmic rays. As the Moon blocks some cosmic rays, it creates a small but detectable dip in the number of muons reaching IceCube from its direction. Observing this shadow confirms the detector’s ability to accurately track particle origins, which is crucial for its primary mission of studying neutrinos and high-energy cosmic phenomena. This notebook will walk you through how to describe and predict the directions of muons detected by IceCube and how to use this data to create a plot revealing the Moon shadow effect.
