Saturday, September 21, 2013

A Run to the Sun

Today, September 17th, was the perfect day to start running outside again. The temperature was a pleasant -64 F and the light wind kept the windchill right under -100 F. For the most part the surface was hard packed and the drifts made for some fun hill running. And of course visibility was high with the glowing daylight! After five months of darkness this was so needed. I was outside for 70 minutes but my layering and strategically placed heat packets kept me warm.  

The sun refraction near the South Pole Telescope (SPT). This day the sun was 1.2 degrees below the horizon. At mid-winter (Winter Solstice New Zealand June 21) the sun was 23.5 degrees below and started the return.

SPT

I played with the color saturation for this interesting view.

Martin A Pomerantz Observatory (MAPO) with sastrugi in the foreground. Sastrugi is really cool looking: Long, wavelike ridges of snow, formed by the wind and found on the polar plains. Sastrugi are usually up to several meters high and are often parallel to the prevailing wind direction.

MAPO radio telescopes.

Almost a full moon.

It felt great to be running outside again!

This side of the station entrance is called DA. The observation deck is on the 2nd floor. To the right is the gym. To the left is the moon.

The drifts were heavy this winter.

The DA stairs. At the beginning of winter it was flat under the station and to the left. Now there is quite a climb to hike to the South Pole marker.

The back of the station showing all the wings with the emergency exits. Gym on the left. The emergency wing (which has a self contained evacuation pod) is to the right of that. In front of that wing is the emergency fuel tank for the emergency generator in the pod and the manual fed ice melter for emergency water.

This is the DZ entrance. The boxes that line both sides hold all the recyclables and food waste. I live in the A1 wing on the right. My room is on the opposite side with a 2nd floor unobstructed view of the polar plain.

The station can be lifted when the snow fills in over time. Pictured are two of the lifting supports.

DZ entrance on the first deck. The second deck leads to the galley. Food is stored on this deck. 

Stairs leading to the entrance.


DZ door on the left.

Saturday September 21, 2013 Sunrise!


I was running outside 4 days this week. Earlier in my run the sun was hidden behind the horizon clouds. In the foreground is IceCube Lab which captures and studies neutrinos bombarding the planet.

On my last lap the sun was visible.

Our future is very bright!


4 comments:

  1. Hi Mike!
    You sound so positive and your ability to run outside in that extremely cold environment is admirable. I complain about the heat, humidity, and the hours I spend at school. You rarely complain and you find the time to take care of yourself. I do not think frostbite is worth the sweat! Okay, I think the sun rising is a good thing, and then you can explain what happens to those big drifts under the building. Thanks for sharing! Love always, Andee

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  2. Nothing to be negative about. You learn quickly to survive and not complain. A few nips here and there is okay. It's just nice to be outside again enjoying the sun. The summer crew will come in and level all the drifts. Then next winter the same thing happens all oven again.

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  3. Nice pics. Good that you are fooling around with editing again! Wish I could make pictures with such blue / yellow contrast. Usually it turns into some Gator color scheme that makes me want to stab a kitten because I have such a bias against it lol.

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    1. Thanks. Gators are out. FSU football is number 2 in the nation.

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