Week 22 at the Pole

Monday, June 17, 2019 - 1:45pm

Bright green auroras over the South Pole Telescope
Benjamin Eberhardt, IceCube/NSF

Since the moon was down last week, many winterovers—including IceCube’s—were outside braving the (extreme) cold, looking to catch some good shots of the Milky Way or the aurora australis, also known as the southern lights.  Their efforts were not in vain.  And if you know where to look in the photos of the ICL below, you can spot Jupiter, Saturn, or Antares, the brightest star in the constellation of Scorpius. Some of the auroras were quite strong and bright, bathing everything including the snowy plateau in their green light.

Milky Way, stars and aurora over ICL
Benjamin Eberhardt, IceCube/NSF

ICL with outdoor lights on, dark starry sky above
Benjamin Eberhardt, IceCube/NSF

Bright green auroras, snow below illuminated in green
Benjamin Eberhardt, IceCube/NSF