21 December 2012: Happy Solstice!

21 December 2012

Happy Solstice!

When we first arrived in McMurdo we still had sunrise and sunset, although the daylight was long.  On 23 October we got our last sunset for the field season and it is now 24 hours a day of daylight.

One of the last sunsets.  Photographer- Laurie Connell, Location McMurdo Station Antarctica.

But today marks a shift in our pattern.  For us in the far southern hemisphere, the December solstice is when the sun begins to shift downward toward the horizon as we slowly move into our long winter night.   Our next sunset is 20 February, still quite a long time away.  

Does all of this daylight bother us?  Well, it can make sleeping difficult but if you pull down your cap or put on eye shades it is plenty dark to sleep. 

 Laurie Connell at Fang Glacier camp- photographer Hubert Stadiguel.

We also work hard while in the field so can get so tired we could sleep just about any place.

 So, enjoy the return of the sun in the Northern hemisphere while we watch the sun slowly get ready to set again.

Photo of Rusty Rodriguez and Regina Redman sleeping in Helo.  Photographer Scott Craig, location some place over Taylor Valley Antarctica.

Polar Mirage

By: Dr. Laurie Connell

Here in McMurdo we often see mirages when looking across McMurdo Sound to the Royal Society range or Mount Discovery. These are specifically a form of superior mirage where alternating cold layers and warm layers of air bend the light and can form fantastical images, often appearing like cliffs or upside down mountains. This type of mirage is called a Fata Morgana after Morgan le Fay, who was a fairy enchantress skilled in the art of changing shape in the tales of King Arthur. How ever they are formed, they are enjoyable to watch.

Photos of the Day: Cape Royds and Penguins

 I'm out working at Cape Royds now.  It is the location of the southern most Adelie Penguin colony in the world.  Here is a photo of my tent with the Mr. Yeast flag on it and Mount Erebus in the background.  A second photo is of some penguins in the
colony displaying for each other.

Photo of the Day: Summit of Mount Erebus

Our Mr Yeast Flag on the summit of Mount Erebus, the crater rim.

The person holding the flag is New Mexico Tech Mount Erebus Volcano Observatory (MEVO) Graduate student Nial Peters.  Photo by Anthony Rigoni