Week 36 at the Pole

Orange light along the horizon before sunrise at the South Pole, IceCube Lab in foreground.
Marc Jacquart, IceCube/NSF

Even without the stars and auroras, the sky at the South Pole can still steal the show. As the sky brightens ever so slowly during sunrise, the horizon takes on a colorful glow. Above, we have the IceCube Lab (ICL) shown in shadow with a backdrop of orange light stretching along the horizon. Below is a different view of the pre-sunrise sky. So, what were the winterovers up to last week? They did a weather balloon launch (no photos), some outreach presentations (no photos), and an optical fiber test at the ICL, with…photos! Well, a photo (see bottom) of Marc tracing a problematic line among the “few” other cables in the ICL server room.

Glow of light along horizon at South Pole.
Hrvoje Dujmovic, IceCube/NSF
Winterover standing on stepladder in server room with floor to ceiling bundles of orange cables.
Marc Jacquart, IceCube/NSF