Amery Ice Shelf Loose Tooth Monitoring 2005-2006
It is springtime down here in the southern hemisphere. The sun is up most of the time and only sets for about two hours around midnight. Sunrises and sunsets are spectacular and last for hours. Because we are south of the Antarctic circle, we will soon have about two months where the sun won't set at all. This happens because the earth spins around an axis that is tilted relative to it's orbit around the sun. A few nights ago we noticed the moon setting near the horizon looking squashed like a football. This was an optical illusion caused by the image being refracted (bent) by the crystal clear atmosphere -- the light closer to the horizon had to pass through more air.
