Week 14 at the Pole

The flags at the ceremonial pole shown in shadow against a colorful horizon.
Josh Veitch-Michaelis, IceCube/NSF

So, how many South Poles are there?  Above we see a beautiful sunset image taken last week at the Pole.  This location is the ceremonial South Pole, easy to identify by the lineup of flags representing the original signatories of the Antarctic Treaty. It’s a place for photo ops, but it’s not what’s generally referred to as the South Pole, which is the geographic South Pole. (Pop quiz: Which South Pole have we not mentioned?) Indoors last week, IceCube winterovers participated in outreach by giving a South Pole webcast to introduce IceCube science and describe their life at the Pole. They connected with high school masterclass students and shared some images of themselves, including the photo below, where we see Martin relaxing in what’s known as the quiet reading room.

Person relaxing with a book on a sofa amid walls of bookshelves.
Josh Veitch-Michaelis, IceCube/NSF