IceCube Neutrino Observatory, illustration. IceCube (completed 2010) is an international high-energy neutrino observatory in the ice below the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station. The detection area consists of some 80 strings of 60 digital optical modules (DOM, spheres, some shown here below the ice) deployed at depths between 1400 and 2400 metres. Neutrinos are elementary particles that are very difficult to detect and study. The modules detect the light (Cherenkov radiation) produced when neutrinos interact with ice. The Eiffel Tower (300 metres tall) is shown at lower left for a sense of scale.