It was a busy week at the Pole. Cargo destined for the IceCube Lab arrived, shown above while it was being unloaded. Below, a smaller load of cargo is packed on a sled to get it back to the station by snowmobile. Besides dealing with heavy boxes, IceCube’s winterovers were busy with computer upgrades and […]
Bad weather and low visibility gave a misty, floating appearance to the IceCube Lab (ICL) last week—view of its staircase above and the whole lab below. IceCube’s new winterovers spent some time at the ICL upgrading servers as well as offering tours to South Pole station personnel. A flight brought some new people to the […]
And then there were two. Last week at the Pole, IceCube’s previous winterovers, Celas and Moreno (shown above), left the ice for warmer climes. Newcomers Hrvoje and Marc continued settling into their new lives at the station. The detector remained quiet for them this week, giving them more opportunity to tackle some special projects on […]
Finally, the annual changing of the guard for IceCube winterovers took place last week at the Pole. Newcomers Hrvoje Dujmovic and Marc Jacquart arrived in time to get in a little training with outgoing winterovers Celas Marie-Sainte and Moreno Baricevic—all four in the photo above. Hrvoje and Marc, who will be at the Pole for […]
There was an abundance of color out on the ice last week at the Pole—lots of photo shoots in preparation of celebrating Polar Pride Day on November 18. Above we see some of the winterovers captured in midair as they engaged in a pride “jump.” The photo was taken by South Pole Telescope winterover Aman […]
Last week at the Pole there was some more flight activity, bringing in 14 summer crew members but also taking away seven winterovers, seen above walking out to their awaiting plane. IceCube’s new winterovers were not among the arrivals this week, but they’re on their way. During this time of transition, station personnel held an […]
The time has come for last year’s winterovers to pass the baton to the new crew that arrived at the South Pole last week. As a winterover, individuals brave the unforgiving environment to spend a year—sometimes longer—at the South Pole, half of which is enveloped in complete darkness. Every year, two winterovers are selected and […]
It was another quiet week at the Pole. Well, quiet as far as the IceCube detector and the IceCube winterovers’ workload was concerned. But not so quiet regarding flight activity. The first plane, a Basler aircraft, to bring in crew for the summer season arrived at the South Pole last week. Fourteen new arrivals disembarked […]
Sometimes it’s just plain quiet at the Pole. It’s summer, the sun’s out, and the temperatures are…well, let’s just say it’s cold. Above is a nice view of the South Pole station on a sunny day. And below is IceCube winterover Celas, whose remaining days at the Pole are numbered, taking advantage of the sun […]
So, you’ve arrived at the Geographic South Pole—or have you? The sign might not help much on its own, but now that the sun is out we can see where we are from the surroundings (yes, it’s the geographic South Pole). Below is a close-up view of the current 2022 South Pole marker, which was […]