Monday, August 31, 2009
Yes, I really am here
First up, "Look! A mountain!" (I wasn't actually trying to point at that mountain, but that's how it came out.)
Just being silly. This is our view from Building 70 (our remote receiving station). Here is a shot of me just chillin' outside of Building 70:
We call it the telephone booth. Because it isn't much bigger. Spending 3 hours in this hut during a balloon launch can be a little boring, so we have to remember to bring plenty of things to occupy ourselves (read: crossword puzzles).
Finally, here is the beast we get to drive around station. The wheels are too big for the wheel wells, so you can't turn the steering wheel all the way around, or you'll rub the tire.
So there you have proof of my being on the ice. Yesterday, it was -30 F with wind gusts of up to 40 mph. I don't think I have to say that it was C O L D.
That's it for now. Courage.
Saturday, August 29, 2009
One Week Complete
For this one, you really have to enlarge the thumbnail to get the best perspective, but isn't that cool? This is looking pretty much due North, and the sun was setting. The lighting was just right that the sky was brilliant orange and back lit the mountains. Pretty awesome.
As for my photo project, enjoy "McMurdo Fog":
It is dark like that because that is exactly what it looked like for us. Notice how Ob Hill is pretty unrecognizable. Hopefully, we will get a Condition 1 storm (visibility = zero) and I can take a shot then.
Hope things are well in the Northern Hemisphere. More posts to come!
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Fixed picture problem
Here are some bonus pictures.
This was the view yesterday as the sun rose over the station. These are the most beautiful mountains I have ever seen.And here is picture number one for my photo project:
This is Observation Hill with the National Science Foundation's Chalet in the foreground. This one is "Sun rising over McMurdo". I'm going to take the same shot every day (or every other day), at different times of day the whole time I am here. Like Monet.
Anyway, things are OK here. We launched an ozonesonde two days ago. The next instrument we'd like to launch is one of our particle counters. Hopefully, we can do that tomorrow.
Courage.
Sunday, August 23, 2009
I have arrived!
Hello! I writing to you from Antarctica! After two delays in Christchurch (which ended up being a nice break), we woke up on Saturday at 2:30 am and headed to the airport to gear up and board the plane. We took off at about 7:30 am New Zealand time, and arrived over McMurdo a little over 5 hours later.
Landing in a C-17 is strange. You can't see anything, and all you can do to figure out where you are and how far away from the ground you are is to try to "feel" the way the plane is moving and shaking. The crew told us it was about -25 F on the ground at McMurdo, and boy, they were right. Cold! But this year, I was prepared. I managed to capture a few pictures of my first moments on the ice.
Here's a view of the plane behind me as I walked away from it. The air was full of ice and diamond dust particles, so I think these images are quite impressive.
Here are all of us Antarcticans boarding Ivan the Terra Bus to be taken back to McMurdo. I didn't ride on Ivan but on a bus, instead.
It has been pretty nice here, and it is only day 2. Tonight, as well as last night, there were pretty spectacular polar stratospheric clouds (or, nacreous clouds) all over the skies surrounding the station. This evening, I couldn't help myself, and had to take a couple pictures.
How about them apples? If you are new to my blog, and you're not sure what these strange things are, I explain the phenomenon a few posts back. We try to take ozone measurements when these clouds are present because they are key in the destruction of ozone. To measure these clouds, we use a LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) to measure the light scattered from the clouds. The characteristic green LIDAR beam is well known around station, and here is my best 4 second exposure shot of it:
For now, it is time for me to get ready for bed. We have another long day of getting all of our gear in order and ready for a launch. Hopefully, we can launch tomorrow. Until next time: courage.
Friday, August 21, 2009
Day Four in Christchurch
Hugh is my adventurer again this year. He had such a good time freezing on the ice last year that he decided to join me again. I'd put some pictures up, but the wireless here isn't letting me. Oh well.
We have had nice weather since we've been here. That makes biding the time a little easier. We don't really know what we're going to do today, but I'm fine with just taking it easy and relaxing a little.
Well, I'll keep you all up to date on when we get to the ice. Hopefully, tomorrow's the day.