  The hope is that in the near future neutrino astronomy, born with the
identification of thermonuclear fusion in the sun and the particle processes
controlling the fate of a nearby supernova, will reach throughout and beyond
our Galaxy and make measurements relevant to cosmology, astrophysics,
cosmic-ray and particle physics. The construction of a high-energy neutrino
telescope requires a huge volume of very transparent, deeply buried material
such as ocean water or ice, which acts as the medium for detecting the
particles. The AMANDA muon and neutrino telescope, now operating 4 strings of
photomultiplier tubes buried in deep ice at the South Pole, is scheduled to be
expanded to a 10-string array. The data collected over the first 2 years cover
the 3 basic modes in which such instruments are operated: i) the burst mode
which monitors the sky for supernovae, ii) the detection of electromagnetic
showers initiated by PeV-energy cosmic electron neutrinos, and iii) muon
trajectory reconstruction for neutrino and gamma-ray astronomy. We speculate on
the possible architectures of kilometer-scale instruments, using early data as
a guideline.
