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 […]
It’s a bird. It’s a plane. It’s…no, wait, it is a plane. The first planes of the season have arrived at the Pole. These were early season flights, as the continent begins to prepare for summer. Two twin otters brought not only a very welcome supply of “freshies” but also the first fresh faces they’ve […]
IceCube collaborators Naoko Kurahashi Neilson, associate professor in the Department of Physics at Drexel University, and Doug Cowen, professor of physics at Penn State University (PSU), are two of the 2024 fellows announced by the American Physical Society (APS) a few days ago. For Kurahashi Neilson, this award acknowledges her “outstanding contributions and leadership in […]
All around the South Pole, flags are used as markers—they can designate pathways or identify spots where equipment is buried below the surface. They’re especially important in winter to avoid getting lost in the dark when the already cold temperatures are at their coldest. But even in daylight, windy conditions at the Pole can dramatically […]
More than 250 participants took part in the fall IceCube Collaboration meeting, which wrapped up last week in Madison, Wisconsin. Hosted by the Wisconsin IceCube Particle Astrophysics Center (WIPAC) at the University of Wisconsin–Madison (UW–Madison), the meeting ran from September 23 through September 27. The collaboration meets in Madison every two years in the fall. […]
Finally, the sun has officially risen at the South Pole. It’s manifesting in some beautiful soft colors along the horizon in this image of the flags at the ceremonial South Pole. These flags represent the twelve original signatories of the Antarctic Treaty. And exposed as they are to the harsh elements all year long, they […]
Snow at the Pole—in winter, it’s a lot like dirt swept under the rug. You know it’s there but you can’t really see it. Then, the sun starts to come up and, lo and behold, you see the large snowdrifts everywhere. Much of this snow will need to be cleared before activities of the summer […]
This story was originally published by the University of Wisconsin–Madison International Division. Among the University of Wisconsin–Madison’s many ambitious research endeavors, the IceCube Neutrino Observatory stands out as one of the most unique. This remarkable telescope, which has instrumented a billion tons of South Pole ice, is designed to search for tiny, ghostlike particles called neutrinos, helping […]
You might think that the IceCube Lab, looking so impressive in the photo above just before sunrise, was the highlight of last week at the Pole. But for the station’s winterovers, it was a video conference interview with astronaut Christina Koch that really got folks thrilled. Christina is no stranger to the South Pole. Prior […]