Speaker
Description
On their way to Earth, cosmic rays are blocked by the Sun and Moon, leading to a relative deficit of detectable cosmic rays at Earth, the cosmic ray Sun/Moon shadow. With the IceCube Neutrino Observatory, atmospheric muons are detected that are produced when cosmic rays interact with the Earth’s atmosphere. While the Moon shadow serves as an absolute pointing calibration, the Sun shadow depth and shape depend on the details of the solar magnetic field strength and structure. The turbulent and large-scale fields deflect the charged cosmic rays and thus leave their footprint in the Sun shadow. We present an event selection and method for measuring the Sun and Moon shadows with IceCube. We discuss how these observations help to enhance our understanding of the solar magnetic field. *Supported by BMFTR
