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Outreach

• Of all the places in the world, why would you want to launch your balloon in Antarctica?

  You can imagine that with the cold temperatures and remote location, working here in Antarctica would be quite a challenge. However, there are several good reasons for launching a balloon such as ours here: First of all, the phenomenon we are trying to observe, x-rays produced by the aurora, occurs mainly at high latitudes, over places such as Antarctica in the Southern hemisphere or Alaska and Scandinavia in the Northern hemisphere. Since these x-rays do not penetrate very far through the atmosphere the instruments to detect and image the x-rays must be flown on a platform such as our balloon which allows us to take measurements at high altitudes - around 120,000 feet, which is about four times as high as most commercial airplanes fly. Also, the 24-hour daylight that we have here in Antarctica during the summer months in the Southern hemisphere is great for ballooning. Constant exposure to the sun allows the balloon's electronics to be powered efficiently by solar panels. Also, since the balloon is filled with helium gas, the constant sunlight maintains the balloon at a stable temperature which helps maintain the altitude of the balloon without extreme fluctuations between night and day.

• How cold is it in Antarctica?

  We equate Antarctica with cold for obvious reasons. The coldest temperature ever recorded on the surface of the Earth as of 1983 was measured at Vostok station (-89.6 degrees C / -129.3 degrees F)! But during the summer months here at McMurdo Station, the temperatures usually climb above freezing, with typical daytime temperatures near -3.6 deg. C / 30 deg. F. Oftentimes strong winds will drive this temperature much colder by tens of degrees.

  On the other hand, during the austral (southern hemispheric) summer it can get rather toasty in the direct and constant sun. We had fabulous weather over the Christmas holiday which let us bask outside in the sun. Don't forget your sunscreen! Weather conditions here, however, change very rapidly and the just described sunbathing session could have easily turned into blizzard-like conditions if a storm had rolled in.

• How are x-rays produced in the upper atmosphere?

  We're used to thinking of x-rays as the pictures we get of ourselves at the doctor or dentist's office. Perhaps you've seen "through" your carry-on baggage when it rides through the x-ray machine at airports. Nature produces x-rays of its own in the upper parts of our atmosphere, especially at high latitudes where we are doing our experiment. In this region, electrons precipitate ("rain") down from space. When the electrons, especially very energetic ones, interact with the particles found in the upper atmosphere, they can give up part or all of their energy as x-ray radiation.