Week 21 at the Pole

Side view of the South Pole Telescope at night, with low bright auroras and the Milky Way overhead.
Aman Chokshi, SPT/NSF

Last week at the Pole, IceCube’s winterovers spent much of their time on a major troubleshooting task. It kept them busy, too busy to take many photos apparently, even though their work required several trips out to the IceCube Lab (ICL) under clear starry skies filled with auroras. Thanks to fellow winterover Aman Chokshi, we get a glimpse of these beautiful skies from last week—first a few images of the South Pole Telescope with the Milky Way and auroras, then a view of the ICL from the vantage point of the South Pole Telescope. Entertainment at the Pole last week took the form of a “Halloween in May” party, which was jumpstarted by a concert from the local South Pole band.

View of the South Pole Telescope dish with skies full of green and purple auroras.
Aman Chokshi, SPT/NSF
IceCube Lab lit up in red lights under starry sky with low faint auroras.
Aman Chokshi, SPT/NSF
Local band members performing in South Pole gymnasium.
Moreno Baricevic, IceCube/NSF