greetings from the almost dark south pole!
i hope this finds you all enjoying a post easter glow and the spring in full bloom! since i last wrote the sun has vanished from sight but it's light still lingers below the horizon. the moon has joined the celestial party and the stars are becoming brighter everyday. we have already had the pleasure of some spectacular auroras and the anticipation for the solar shows to come have conjured up a primal excitement that i really don't have words for... we have a channel on our radios specifically for aurora sightings, whenever anyone catches a show they call in with the location in the sky and the station empties to witness the brilliance. one of our astronomers, Robert Schwarz has been teaching a wonderful class and i have been soaking it up! i've taken many astronomy classes over the years, but this one is specific to the skies here, it is just an example of how the community members come together to contribute their talents to make our time here memorable! every weekend when the kitchen staff is enjoying their time off members of the community step up and cook meals for everyone to share, it has been such a treat. i cooked an indian feast with some friends last month, there have been meals of fresh pasta, and my next meal will be chicken and dumplings, there are all sorts of imaginative dishes! the greenhouse is producing an abundance of greens, we get more freshies in the winter than we did in the summer! we have covered all the windows with cardboard to prevent light pollution for the telescopes, and many folks designed artistic covers for the cardboard, it definatley adds a cheery feel to the station. i am the south pole corespondent for the Antarctic Sun which is a published paper featuring news from the 3 USAP stations, use this link to check out the latest:
http://antarcticsun.usap.gov/aroundTheContinent/contentHandler.cfm?id=1201
and 2 more sights to check out:
www.polarwinter.com and www.southpolestation.com
all of these photos have been taken by Christy Schultz who is the NOAA officer here for the summer/winter, and she's my friend and has an awesome camera and a great eye, she is gracious enough to let me share her photos here.
take care, karengrace
i hope this finds you all enjoying a post easter glow and the spring in full bloom! since i last wrote the sun has vanished from sight but it's light still lingers below the horizon. the moon has joined the celestial party and the stars are becoming brighter everyday. we have already had the pleasure of some spectacular auroras and the anticipation for the solar shows to come have conjured up a primal excitement that i really don't have words for... we have a channel on our radios specifically for aurora sightings, whenever anyone catches a show they call in with the location in the sky and the station empties to witness the brilliance. one of our astronomers, Robert Schwarz has been teaching a wonderful class and i have been soaking it up! i've taken many astronomy classes over the years, but this one is specific to the skies here, it is just an example of how the community members come together to contribute their talents to make our time here memorable! every weekend when the kitchen staff is enjoying their time off members of the community step up and cook meals for everyone to share, it has been such a treat. i cooked an indian feast with some friends last month, there have been meals of fresh pasta, and my next meal will be chicken and dumplings, there are all sorts of imaginative dishes! the greenhouse is producing an abundance of greens, we get more freshies in the winter than we did in the summer! we have covered all the windows with cardboard to prevent light pollution for the telescopes, and many folks designed artistic covers for the cardboard, it definatley adds a cheery feel to the station. i am the south pole corespondent for the Antarctic Sun which is a published paper featuring news from the 3 USAP stations, use this link to check out the latest:
http://antarcticsun.usap.gov/aroundTheContinent/contentHandler.cfm?id=1201
and 2 more sights to check out:
www.polarwinter.com and www.southpolestation.com
all of these photos have been taken by Christy Schultz who is the NOAA officer here for the summer/winter, and she's my friend and has an awesome camera and a great eye, she is gracious enough to let me share her photos here.
take care, karengrace
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| this is the view of the station from ARO-Atmospheric Research Observatory during twilight |
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| this is ARO, behind ARO is the Clean Air Sector, believed to be the cleanest air in the world |
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| this is the view of the flag line from the 10 meter telescope, or the South Pole Telescope- SPT, to the station MAPO, which houses 2 more telescopes is in the foreground |
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| this is Destination Zulu-DZ , the back entrance to the station with a Pisten Bully pulling in to drop off cargo |
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| again, this is ARO with the full moon blazing |
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| some of the 1st auroras of the season! |
