APOD
Astronomy Picture of the Day
Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.
KamLAND Verifies the Sun
Explanation: A large sphere beneath Japan has helped verify humanity's understanding of the inner workings of the Sun . The KamLAND sphere , shown above during construction in 2001, fails to detect fundamental particles called anti-neutrinos that are known to be emitted by nearby nuclear reactors around Japan . This triumphant failure can best be explained by neutrinos oscillating between different types. KamLAND 's results bolster previous neutrino oscillation claims including that from the Sudbury detector , a similar large sphere beneath Canada designed to detect all types of neutrinos from the Sun . Thus, leading astrophysicists now consider the long standing solar neutrino deficit problem as finally solved. A new mystery that replaces it is to find a new Standard Model for particle physics that fully explains neutrino oscillations.
| Date | June 23, 2003 |
|---|---|
| Credit | Credit: KamLAND Collaboration |
| Authors & editors: | Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP) |
| A service of: |
ASD at NASA / GSFC, NASA Science Activation & Michigan Tech. U. |



