Sunscapes and Moonlight  

A sunrise over Scott Base looking east out over the vehicle hitching rail from the main side entrance of Scott Base. It's 8.30 am and only 2 weeks to go before the sun doesn't make it over the horizon line any more. As the days go by, the sunrise moves further north behind the bulk of Eribus and is soon lost to all at Scott Base.

Above are the pictures that I really like. These were taken just outside the carpenter's workshop (of Scott Base) at about 9.30 am in late March of 1998. This is no camera trickery; what you see is only partially as good as what it looked like in true life. The ice crystals in the air and the angle of the sun cause the double sun dog effect. I had to turn the camera on an angle to get both the sun dogs at once. It really was impressive to see, and it only lasted about 10 minutes. The sun has only just peaked over the low lying saddle between Eribus and its foot hills and it quickly disappears again as it moves around the horizon to the left without gaining any further height. The strong pink line going through the picture is a characteristic of the digital camera in strong light.
 
 

 
A little bit of moon light over the winterized vehicles.  The atmosphere around Antarctica is so clear that objects far away can seem very close. Often you can make out many of the moons surface details with the naked eye.
 
 
 
 
 

Looking to the South West from around the Hatherton Lab, you can see the fading colors of an Antarctic winter evening sky. Beside the radio transmit mast is Mt Discovery and in the range of hills to the center left of the picture is Mt Aurora (which we have climbed) .
 
 

I went outside one day and say this rod of light breaking through the clouds and exploding onto the side of the hills around Mt Eribus.  The camera obviously had trouble focusing on something so bright but it gives the general idea, even if it did turn out a bit yellow and out of focus.
 

Looking out from one of the emergency escape doors in the link way outside the Hatherton lab. The moon does a wobbling dance around the horizon and never seems to set where you think it should. Observation Hill is a popular attraction for the locals of Scott Base and McMurdo. During the night it gets a strange pink luminescent glow (only just visible )on the North facing (to the right) as the lights from Mactown reflect off the snow-covered face.

Vinces cross which is in so many photos (like Eribus) once again becomes the focus and setting for another memory of the antarctic twilight.  Many people don't get to see these scene's as it is very cold and more than just a minor hassle to make the effort and  get outside to take photos or just enjoy the moment.  Even though it looks very peaceful its very difficult to feel relaxed as the wind is blowing a steady 15 knots and the temperature before wind-chill is about -40. Your camera is carefully tucked inside your jacket and you wonder if its going to freeze up before taking the photos you want.
 

Looking south from the Scott Base dining room out over the old Trans-Antarctic Exploration hut. The moon continues its wobble around the horizon, and is eventually trying to set between White and Black Islands.

This graph is found on the internet and indicates the sunset, sunrise and twilight of McMurdo Station. Not 100 percent accurate for Scott Base residents but it gives a good idea. The final sunset for this area was on the 24-4-98. Twilight continues for a few weeks but we will lose even that luxury after a while.

  This photo was taken by Eric from Observation Hill at 1 pm on 25-4-98, the day after the last sunrise before winter. It looks north over Mactown and even though you may see a glow in the sky, it is just the sun illuminating the clouds from below the visible horizon.
 

 Below are sunsets & sunrises from previous years. I don't know when, but it looks like they have been taken from around the Scott Base area. The days of late autumn and early spring in Antarctica give some spectacular sky paintings of light and color. You just have to be in the right place at the right time with camera in hand. Most times I don't have a camera on me and all I can do is relax and enjoy the serenity while trying to remember every detail, like a snap shot for the mind. I remember one day I was out running up the hill at the back of Scott Base and the sky turned into an amazing patchwork quilt of deep purples, blues and violets. I stopped and just stared for a while before I had to start running again to keep from freezing. Nobody else had seen it from inside the base but I will never forget it. Photography doesn't always catch the feelings of the moment, but it can jolt back into life the emotions of those who were there when it was taken. Imagine what the person was thinking at the time of these pictures.

The sun skirting the horizon at Cape Bird on the other side of Ross Island. Jonathan with his trusty digital video was at Cape Bird at the beginning of the season and took the 2 photos above and the one below not long after.

The planes lined up under the shadow of Observation Hill at the sea ice runway. The 24 hour sun drops down to horizon level before reappearing on the other side of the hill and climbing back up into the sky.

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9-3-01

Edited by Shirley Baston Fred - [email protected] - ICQ #15167279