M. Yoshimoto

When matter accumulates on the surface of a neutron star, the ultra-dense remnant of a dead star, an explosion occurs, akin to a giant thermonuclear bomb. In this inferno, nuclei of elements not found on Earth are born within seconds. To understand which ones, their masses must be known with great precision.

Neutrinos are nearly elusive particles that pass through Earth without noticing it. But sometimes one slams into an atomic nucleus in water, and a whole shower of particles is born: muons, protons, pions. Catching that moment is like photographing a bullet hitting an apple from a kilometer away.