MARCH 20, 2025: The setting sun at NOAA's South Pole Atmospheric Baseline Observatory. Dark Sector telescopes and a final glimpse of sunlight are framed by a wave of snow, setting off six months of darkness at the South Pole.
MARCH 20, 2025: At NOAA's South Pole Atmospheric Baseline Observatory, a wave of snow frames Dark Sector telescopes, giving a final glimpse of sunlight before six months of darkness.
In the Northern Hemisphere, March 20 signals the start of meteorological spring. It's the start of fall in the Southern Hemisphere, where researchers and staff at NOAA’s South Pole Observatory recently witnessed the fading light of the sun and the start of six months of darkness.
“As the sun gets low on the horizon and temperatures continue to drop, the sky transitions from the bright, crisp blue we had seen since our arrival many months ago, to slowly reveal shades of green and orange, pink and violet,” said Ian Crocker, a South Pole station technician with NOAA’s Global Monitoring Laboratory.
Crocker and his colleagues will help continue NOAA’s mission at the observatory throughout the 2025 Antarctic winter, including taking measurements of ozone, greenhouse gases, aerosols and solar radiation.
The stark, surreal beauty of this place and this time of transition is unlike any other.
Ian Crocker, NOAA GML South Pole station technician
NOAA’s South Pole Atmospheric Research Observatory and a kaleidoscopic sky.
NOAA’s South Pole Atmospheric Research Observatory and a kaleidoscopic sunset.
NOAA’s South Pole Observatory is part of the National Science Foundation’s Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station — located at the geographic South Pole on the Antarctic plateau at an elevation of 2,837 meters above sea level. For nine months each year, no flights go in or out of the research station because aircraft systems don’t work in such cold conditions.
A green sky and nearly full moon above the Dark Sector and Ceremonial South Pole. The Dark Sector is a designated area where light and electromagnetic interference are minimized to support sensitive scientific instruments.
A green sky and nearly full moon above the Dark Sector and Ceremonial South Pole. The Dark Sector is a designated area where light and electromagnetic interference are minimized to support sensitive scientific instruments.
During their one-year tours of duty at the observatory, GML staff members experience just one sunrise and one sunset — so they won’t see the sun rise for six months.
Crocker shares what that experience means to him: “The stark, surreal beauty of this place and this time of transition is unlike any other. It elicits feelings of wondrous awe, deep gratitude, a contemplative curiosity about the dark months ahead and knowing that this experience will leave an imprint on our lives forever.”
Want to see for yourself what it's like at the South Pole right now? Check out this live webcam.
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