'Ghost particles' from space telescope wins physics Nobel

What the report says

Belgian physicist Prof Francis Halzen has won the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physics for his leading role in developing the IceCube Neutrino Observatory, the BBC reported. The observatory at the South Pole is designed to detect neutrinos, tiny and elusive particles that can travel across space and carry information about violent, high-energy events in the universe.

According to the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, Halzen’s vision and scientific leadership were fundamental to the project. The BBC said he first proposed the idea of building a neutrino detector at the South Pole in 1988, and later guided the creation of IceCube, which uses a cubic kilometre of Antarctic ice fitted with thousands of light sensors.

IceCube was built to capture rare flashes of light produced when a neutrino interacts with ice, allowing scientists to estimate where the particle came from. The BBC said this has opened a new way of studying parts of the cosmos that are difficult to observe with ordinary telescopes.

Halzen said he was surprised the project worked so well. In broader scientific context, neutrino astronomy is considered an emerging field because these particles can provide clues about distant galaxies and extreme cosmic processes that remain poorly understood.