September, 2013....J. Dana Hrubes...updated September 30, 2013, 2300 GMT
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sunrise
The sun makes its appearance again at the geographic South Pole after six long, dark months

The sun made is reappearance on September 22 after six long months. The sunlight revealed how bad the snow accumulation and drifting was this year. It also reminded us that we only have two short months left to observe with the South Pole Telescope (SPT) and to finish up other remaning work and loose ends.

      SPT illuminated by the sun for the first time in 6 months   
           

sunrise on the plateau
The sun rises over the stark beauty of the high Antarctic plateau
 
     the station and MAPO at sunrise       the wind tattered flag line      looking back at the station from the snow covered deck at DSL   
  
SPT moon and Venus
A close encounter of the moon and Venus over the South Pole Telescope
 
     SPT, the Moon, and Venus        the Moon and Venus  

moon
The nearly full moon right before sunrise



The snow accumulation and drifting was especially bad this year due to so much wind and poor weather.
dsl before and after winter
The Dark Sector Laboratory (DSL), where I work with the South Pole Telescope (SPT), in January and then in September after a long winter
SPT behind drift
The 6 story high South Pole Telescope hiding behind the huge drift at the MAPO building

    the south pole telescope barely visible behind the huge drift at the MAPO building       MAPO building drift     SPT and DSL snow covered      DSL first deck snow    
 
   DSL snow second deck     DSL first deck and the flagline to the station     MAPO, electrical sub-station, SPT and a huge drift covering the flagline  


Recent SPT News:
 The SPT collaboration made the news this month after submitting a paper detailing the first measurements of a long predicted polarization pattern in the afterglow of the Big Bang, called lensed B-modes.      Nature Magazine        Sky and Telescope Magazine      Physics World     the SPT technical paper       

  
Next Month: October - Last Full Month at the Pole!
Recent South Pole Telescope Technical Papers  

A Real-Time Photo of South Pole Station as Seen from the ARO Building (live when satellite is up)
A Comprehensive South Pole Web Site by Bill Spindler
Winterover Web Pages (Bill Spindler's List)

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