SPACE LAB ANTARCTICA

Antarctica may be at the bottom of the world, but as the coldest, driest and highest continent on Earth, it's ideal for observing the universe

- Paul Cockburn

Wrap up warm’ has long been a mantra among astronomers everywhere, given that so much observation of the cosmos has to take place out in the open and at night. However, if you’ve ever grumbled about surviving a few hours outside during a cold British winter night, just remember it could be worse – you could be in Antarctica, or even at the South Pole.

“I still remember the first time I flew down there,” says Kael Hanson, director of the Wisconsin IceCube Particle Astrophysics Center at the University of WisconsinMadison. “It was early November, which was just when the station opens for most people, and it was about -45 degrees Celsius (-49 degrees Fahrenheit). It was quite a shock just to get off the aeroplane and be out in that cold. It’s blinding bright too, unbelievably bright, because you have all this snow and everything is reflecting in your face. It’s also at altitude. The first couple of days you find yourself catching your breath. Sometimes you wake up sort of gasping for air, just because of the altitude. It’s an incredibly extreme environment to live in.”

ANTARCTICA VERSUS EUROPA

How this frozen continent compares to the icy crust of Jupiter’s moon

1. Frozen surface The ice covering Lake Vostok is around four kilometres (2.5 miles) thick. That compares with estimates of up to 30 kilometres of ice (19 miles) protecting Europa’s oceans.