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.
Bu hikaye All About Space UK dergisinin Issue 141 sayısından alınmıştır.
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Bu hikaye All About Space UK dergisinin Issue 141 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
MYSTERIES OF THE UNI WHERE ARE ALL THE SPIRAL GALAXIES?
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Thought it was impossible to observe the wonders of the night sky from towns and cities? Think again. Follow our tips and tricks on successfully observing through sky glow
15 STUNNING STAR CLUSTERS
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Eileen Collins "It was a difficult mission...we were the first to see Mir"
Having served as both the first female pilot and first female commander of NASA's Space Shuttle, Collins boosted the involvement of women in space exploration to a whole new level
MARS LEAKS FASTER WHEN IT'S CLOSER TO THE SUN
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FUTURE TECH KANKOH-MARU
This ambitious reusable spacecraft will be capable of taking 50 people to and from orbit
THE FINAL FRONTIER
Beyond the reach of the Sun is a fascinating region of the cosmos that were only just beginning to explore
A long-lost moon could explain Mars' weird shape and extreme terrain
A long-lost moon could explain why Mars is so different from the other rocky planets in the Solar System. Today Mars has two tiny moons.
A sprinkling of cosmic dust may have helped kick-start life on Earth
Cosmic dust may have helped kick-start life on Earth. New findings challenge a widely held assumption that this wasn't a plausible explanation.