New neutrino hunting mission launches in Lake Superior

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Scientists says neutrinos are the most numerous particles in the universe, and yet, we know the least about them. An experimental project in Lake Superior aims to discover more about them.

A 238-foot ocean research vessel from Massachusetts sailed across the Great Lakes into Duluth this week to begin a unique scientific mission to detect neutrinos — tiny, subatomic particles that may hold the secret to the beginning of the universe.

Neutrinos are sometimes called "ghost particles" because they're extremely difficult to detect. They rarely interact with matter and they pass through most materials without leaving a trace. They’re also, literally, almost everywhere.

"There are a billion of them for every normal electron or proton that you're used to. So, the most numerous particle in the universe, and we know the least about them,” explained Alec Habig, a physics professor at the University of Minnesota...