Last week at the Pole was a time of team building. With the newest members of the winterover crew having recently made it to the Pole prior to station close, they’ve been engaged in a number of exercises and activities to build camaraderie among the group, who will spend the next six months together in […]
It looks like someone just opened up their CSA delivery. Only, this harvest is not from a farm but rather from the South Pole’s own greenhouse. The recent yield was being given in thanks to the SPOT team, who arrived last week with precious fuel and cargo that the South Pole station needs to make […]
Last week at the Pole, IceCube winterover Connor got up close and personal with…something large. That something turns out to be a calibration target for the South Pole Telescope. It’s not located near the telescope but rather about 3 kilometers away, the minimum distance required for the telescope to focus on the source, which gets […]
It was a busy week at the Pole. It started off with a LOT of heavy lifting for IceCube’s winterovers, Kalvin and Connor. In the midst of installing new power supplies for computers in the IceCube Lab, which involves a good deal of unpacking and moving hardware, they had to pick up the pace in […]
First, there’s the greenhouse…and this is what it looks like after a harvest. IceCube winterover Kalvin assisted with last week’s harvest, something he was looking forward to doing even before starting his time at the South Pole. People there really appreciate the salads and greens provided by the greenhouse, especially in the winter months when […]
Running a full marathon is one thing (and one that most of us find hard to wrap our heads around), but running a marathon at the South Pole? Now there’s some conviction! Every year, the South Pole hosts a full marathon, along with a half marathon and other races, and sometimes IceCube members are among […]
A bright sun and clear skies were just the ticket for capturing this image of the IceCube Lab (ICL) at the South Pole last week. The photo was actually taken at 3:00 am! Athough the sun’s out all the time now, that early hour happened to be ideal for outdoor lighting conditions. This summer is […]
The new year started off on a quiet note at the South Pole. Last week, with a well-behaved IceCube detector and many holiday celebrations behind them, the winterover crew enjoyed a relatively quiet week, with some nice weather and perhaps a little more free time on their hands. They spent some of that time continuing […]
Everyone at the South Pole station congregated outside last week for a nice holiday group photo. While the temperatures at the Pole are normally their warmest in December and January, it was still cold out there. Hard to tell from the photo as there are plenty of folks not wearing hats and a few here […]
The South Pole station remains a busy place these days. Last week saw lots of activity for IceCube’s winterovers and summer crew, from unpacking cargo and upgrading equipment at the IceCube Lab (ICL) to continued ERT training as well as multiple seasonal celebrations. Festivities included a summer solstice observance, a karaoke/talent show, and a special […]