Science from the South Pole

Karina Leppik

Science Museum of Minnesota

September 5, 2003

Aerial View of Amundsen-Scott South Pole StationFebruary 2003

The South Pole

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Climatology and Aeronomy

Geophysics, Glaciology and Seismology

Dark Sector

Quiet Sector

Clean Air Sector

Objects emit more than one kind of light

X-Ray(image from ROSAT)

Ultraviolet(image from UIT)

Visible(image from

IAC/RGO/Malin)

Infrared(image from 2MASS)

Radio(image from VLA/WSRT)

M33, a spiral galaxy

Receiver Room

TREND Dewar230 GHz Dewar

PoleSTAR Dewar

– Galactic Center• CI (3P1-3P0)

• CO (4-3)

• CO (7-6)

SgrB

SgrA

Why Astronomy at the South

Pole?

Water in the atmosphere

Weather at the South Pole

• Data are binned by week.– Large dots show median

– Thick bar shows 25%75%

– Thin bar shows 10% 90%

– Small dots show maximum and minimum measured values

• Top panel shows PWV as measured by AIR Model 4a balloon flights 1991 to 1996

• Bottom 3 panels summarize hourly NOAA weather data from 1977 to 2001

Week of Year

Climate

• Temperature:– Average annual: -56.9 F – Record high: +7.5 F (December 1978)– Record low: -117.0 F (June 1982)

• Average wind: 12.4 mph• Average pressure: 681.4 millibars• Average pressure altitude: 10,576 feet

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association

(NOAA)

Other Dark Sector Science:

VIPER, DASI, AMANDA

What do I do?

Liquid Helium Fills

A day in the life of a polie

The dome

The New (Elevated) Station

South Pole Greenhouse

Waste Disposal

The Ceremonial Pole

The Geographic South Pole

90o South Latitude

Other South Poles

90o SouthPole of Inaccessibility

Dipmeter reading 80o at the geographic South Pole

South Polar Axis of Rotation

Magnetic Dip Pole

Geomagnetic Pole

Solar Halos

March 20, 2003: two days before sunsetMarch 20: two days before the equinox

March 23, 2003: one day after the equinox

March 24, 2003:two days after the equinox

Green/Blue Flash: March 26, 2003

Pillar: March 25, 2003

The terminator: the line between night and dayApril 1, 2003

Venus

April 5, 2003: two weeks after sunset

Fisheye image of skyWinter 2001Photo: Chris Martin

Aurora (green)

Mars

Fisheye image of skyWinter 2001Photo: Chris Martin

Aurora

Moon

Q&A