Click on images at left to see enlargement.
The South Pole picture gallery is a collection of photographs about
the astronomical observatory being constructed at the end of the Earth. It shows the environment and facilities that astronomers now
work in at the South Pole.
The extremely cold and dry conditions of the Antarctic plateau make it the finest terrestrial site for viewing the distant stars and galaxies
across the infrared and millimetre wavebands. A variety of innovative telescopes are now being constructed there to make more sensitive
observations than can be achieved elsewhere on the Earth. An international team of scientists and engineers are participating in
this work, including from the USA, Australia, Germany, Sweden and the UK. Australia, through the Joint Australian Centre for Astrophysical
Research in Antarctica (JACARA), is responsible for a site testing program, quantifying how good the conditions at the Pole and the high
plateau are for astronomy. As part of this, JACARA have installed the AASTO, or Automated Astrophysical Site Testing Observatory, able to
operate autonomously at uninhabited sites. Many of the pictures show aspects of the AASTO and the experiments it contains.
"More pictures of the South Pole and Antarctica are available at
http://www.phys.unsw.edu.au/~mgb/polepictures.html. Please note that because of the number of images on this page it takes a long time to download, and is not suitable for use over modems."
Michael Burton
Pictures are copyright of JACARA, but can be reproduced for educational, non-profit purposes.