This week at Casey: 14 November 2014

Finally, the wait is over and the mighty Hercules have arrived with 42 new expeditioners on board. While we had a rocky start to the flying season weather wise, this week presented the perfect opportunity for the Hercs to land. 

The first plane came in on Wednesday at 11:55 and the second at 14:55 containing critical staff and supplies to get up and running for the 2014/2015 season.

On board we have a mixture of science, trades and aviation personnel who will lay the foundations for future personnel who will arrive over the coming weeks. Our winter team are all excited to see some new faces mixed in with the current team which will leave for home in early December. 

Nick 

Over the course of the year we've had plenty of opportunities to take shots of some great auroras, a phenomenon which is caused by solar winds interacting with Earth’s magnetic poles.

This week I’d like to showcase a phenomenon within the phenomenon which was controversially bought to light (no pun intended) in 2010 when a photographer from Norway named Per-Arne Mikalsen took a shot of the northern lights containing an interesting feature which sparked debate between photographers, scientists and those who would like to believe we are not alone!

But, don’t set your phaser to stun just yet, as it seems there is a logical answer to the images we have taken while on our Antarctic adventure. The two main players in the debate are: the image is caused by the reflection of a satellite, often called iridium flare, and the second and more probable cause is plain old lens flare, which is caused by light reflecting inside the camera lens. While either of these explanations point towards a defect in the photograph, it’s hard not to imagine that these pretty little objects somehow belong alongside the spectacular dancing aurora, if for only just a moment.

Nick

For most people, the blue building situated North west of the red shed is the noisy place that interrupts the absolute silence in Antarctica. It is generally only ventured into by the diesos, sparkies and plumbers on station, and few others ever open the door to see what wonders lie within. A land of mystical power generation equipment greets the eye in what I refer to as “circa 1985”.

Entering the more noisy area that is the main engine room requires hearing protection and most times you will find me stuffing bright orange plugs into my ears before I enter. At the moment we are starting all the minor repairs and cleaning in the powerhouse so as to have it all shiny and clean for the new season’s trade teams that will start to arrive in the next few weeks.

Nick