Satellite dish at Concordia Credits: A. Kumar
Alex writes: This week we celebrate midwinter. We are halfway through the darkness and on the home stretch to see the sun for the first time in four months. The northern hemisphere will celebrate midsummer this week. Opposites attract – we would love to see your photos of the Sun and your midsummer celebrations. Share them on this Flickr group.
When explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton stayed in Antarctica almost 100 years ago, he had no way to communicate with the world. Although Concordia endures the same physical isolation as Shackleton’s crew, we now have access to email and telephone via satellites.
We are pleased to hear from people from all over the world through the comments to this blog. We have even had video calls with classrooms, inspiring the next generation of explorers, adventurers and astronauts.
Keeping in contact is helping us get through our daily work and has made us look at Antarctica in new ways.
Our last glimpse of the Sun almost two months ago. Credits: A. Kumar
Before the last sunset we asked for ideas to survive the dark. One person recommended that people send pictures of the Sun to remind us what it looks like. We like this idea, so please send us your pictures of the Sun and your celebrations of midsummer to this Flickr group.
In return for your photos we offer readers the opportunity to send questions into the Antarctic winter, to the Concordia crew living in isolation.
I will be happy to answer questions over the coming weeks. If it is a question to do with another crew member or a speciality outside of my expertise, I will find the crew member responsible and let you know the answer.
So please write questions you have below – as a comment to this blog – and we will get back to you.
To get you started a schoolchild asked recently: “Do you eat penguins?” We do not, Concordia is around 3200 metres above sea level, too high for penguins…
Discussion: 6 comments
As you are based in one of the coldest and driest places on Earth, the analogy with Mars makes it, one would assume, a perfect test ground for Mars lander type experiments (when the winds are not too high). What kind of experiments would you like to conduct if you had a completely free and open book, and also, as a second question, do you ever venture out to hunt for meteorites?
Hello!
I sent a picture of the sun from my city, I hope you like it!
My question is here: How someone should go about being a crew member of an expedition like yours, to do research in Antarctica? I’m a geologist, and it’s a dream of mine to someday work over there…
thanks, and good luck!! have a nice winter!
cheers!
Hi!
The day/night alternance is ruling our biological clock. What is your experience of living in the darkness for several months on earth v.s the time you spend awaken and asleep? Do you tend to loose your time reference? Is it more difficult or more easy to wake up in the “morning”?
And also: you had a video call with Andre Kuipers on ISS begin of June. A picture of the call seen from ISS was advertised. Would you have the equivalent from Concordia to share on Flickr?
Cheers!
he visto y he leido muchos articulos sobre la antartida y realmente ,me pregunto si la vida en obscuridad,no es aterradora y desesperante, ya que para mi es como una era prehispanica , en la cual hay muco que observar……
What we up North also have these days – besides plenty of sunshine – are noctilucent clouds: here is the display last night from Germany.
Thanks for taking time out of your days to share what you are up to! I’m actually going to go and look at the lovely photos of summer as well 🙂 I’m really enjoying reading the blog – please keep it up and share more of your photos!!