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South Pole Telescope Dispatches


Leaving on the Very Last Plane

By Kathryn Schaffer Miknaitis · February 12, 2008 · comments No comments yet
The station is closing today. It is one day earlier than we were expecting, which means we have had a last-minute scramble to finish all…
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Climactic Success

By Kathryn Schaffer Miknaitis · February 7, 2008 · comments No comments yet
Everyone here is breathing a huge sigh of relief. Last night was the first night that our new set of detectors were cold enough to…
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The Clock is Ticking

By Kathryn Schaffer Miknaitis · February 5, 2008 · comments No comments yet
I looked up at the weather screen today and saw that the temperature had dropped to -38 F (which is actually almost exactly equal to…
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Order & Progress

By Kathryn Schaffer Miknaitis · February 3, 2008 · comments No comments yet
A few weeks ago, I posted pictures from a walking tour of the edges of the station. (To read that post, please click here.) Behind…
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SPT TV

By Kathryn Schaffer Miknaitis · January 19, 2008 · comments No comments yet
Last week, I had the opportunity to drive the telescope around a lot. We're not actively observing, but we are making many upgrades to the…
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A Monumental Effort

By Kathryn Schaffer Miknaitis · January 12, 2008 · comments No comments yet
Today, what I should be writing about is the formal dedication ceremony for the new station. This morning, the flag was taken down once and…
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Our New Sunroof

By Kathryn Schaffer Miknaitis · January 5, 2008 · comments No comments yet
It's been a busy couple of weeks out at the telescope. SPT postdoc Brad Benson and graduate students Martin Lueker and Joaquin Vieira installed a…
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Like No Other: The South Pole Christmas Tree

By Kathryn Schaffer Miknaitis · December 25, 2007 · comments 9 comments
My new favorite thing in the whole universe is the Christmas tree at the South Pole: The second I saw it... ...I fell in love…
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What Passes for Weather

By Kathryn Schaffer Miknaitis · December 24, 2007 · comments No comments yet
We're guaranteed to have a white Christmas (of sorts) here at the South Pole. But it won't snow. It is normally too cold here for…
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My Wild Ride

By Kathryn Schaffer Miknaitis · December 15, 2007 · comments 1 comment
For the last month, one of the major projects on the telescope has been measuring the surface of the 10-meter reflector and adjusting it carefully…
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