Week 21 at the Pole

Emergency response team exercise in progress in hallway, a person in full firefighter gear on ground in background being attended to, two firefighters examining something in foreground.
Ilya Bodo, IceCube/NSF

It was a rather quiet week at the Pole. Not in the skies, though, where auroras continued to dance and the multitude of stars competed for attention. The bottom photo gives the stars a little bit more of the glory. Though many of us may have never witnessed a display of auroras, we’ve undoubtedly looked up into the sky and watched the stars. Even so, we aren’t often treated to such a dark sky that is so jam-packed with stars. Meanwhile, back inside, the winterovers had their monthly stationwide emergency response drill. This one involved a simulated fire in an electrical room and the extraction of “electrocuted” firefighters along with another victim.

Green auroras swirling across sky with stars in dark sky peaking through gaps.
Ilya Bodo, IceCube/NSF
Star-filled dark winter sky a the Pole, with the top of the station outlined from red backlight.
Ilya Bodo, IceCube/NSF