Now that’s a nice sun halo! It seems to occupy the whole sky above the IceCube Upgrade seasonal equipment site, on the left, and the IceCube Lab, off to the right. There’s a different, “high-up” view of the same sites shown below, taken from a departing flight last week. Yes, people are still coming and […]
Busy, busy,…busy! There was a lot going on at the Pole last week. The South Pole traverse (SPOT) arrived, delivering much needed fuel along with other cargo. The above image shows the first group of SPOT vehicles arriving over the ice, with additional vehicles off in the distance. In the austral summer, SPOT expeditions run […]
Last week at the Pole there was a mix of activities. First up was a short visit from a small group of NSF personnel and Congressional staffers. They arrived on a small plane and spent several hours at the Pole—with a tour of the B2 science lab, several presentations, and some outdoor photo ops—before heading […]
It was on the quiet side last week at the Pole. Weather and other delays kept incoming flights to a minimum. Only one LC-130 flight arrived last week, and unfortunately it was not carrying any IceCube cargo, which added to the quietness of the week for IceCube’s summer staff currently at the Pole. Still, there’s […]
Business as usual for the start of summer at the South Pole. IceCube’s winterovers had plenty of maintenance operations, including software upgrades, to keep them busy. There were more comings and goings last week at the Pole, with people bidding each other welcome and farewell out on the ice. Indoors, excitement came in the form […]
Summer season at the Pole starts out slowly, with the first small plane to arrive bearing fruit but not many people, but then gains momentum with the arrival of the first LC-130, a larger aircraft able to transport more passengers and cargo. Last week at the Pole, the first LC-130 of the season showed up, […]
Out with the old, in with the new. It’s that time of year again, when IceCube’s two incoming winterovers arrive at the Pole and overlap for a short period with the outgoing crew. Often they find an opportunity to take a nice “changing of the guard” photo, with all four winterovers together. IceCube’s newly arrived […]
They’re back! The planes, that is—and the people. It happens every year. Last week marked the arrival of the first Basler plane bringing passengers to the South Pole for the season. That makes the station officially open for summer. Fourteen people arrived to the Pole, bringing 200 pounds of fresh produce along with them, and […]
More incoming flights means more freshies! They get pretty excited at the Pole for almost any kind of fresh fruit or vegetable after going all winter without. Last week, in addition to the standard apples and oranges, the station was treated to pineapple, avocados, and garlic! Another activity that signals the start of summer season […]
Last week was time for a group photo! The sun is up now, so you can take photos of things outdoors other than the sky (not that the winter sky isn’t glorious). Plus, one of the planes that had arrived the previous week served as a nice backdrop for a photo shoot before it returned […]