Beginning in winter 2006, a group of scientists, technicians, and engineers will build the largest telescope ever deployed at the South Pole. The South Pole Telescope will be an important part of the International Polar Year activities. Once it's completed in January 2007, the telescope will give astronomers a powerful new tool to explore dark energy, the mysterious force that may be causing the universe to accelerate.

PHOTO GALLERY

South Pole, February 19, 2007: Two winter-overers Steve Padin (left), and Zak Staniszewski (center) with John Carlstrom (right), Principal Investigator of the SPT.
Image Credit: Bradford Benson

South Pole, February 16, 2007: First light for the South Pole Telescope!

South Pole, January 26, 2007: SPT cryostats.
Image Credit: Bradford Benson
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South Pole, January 26, 2007: Assembling the cryostats.
Image Credit: Bradford Benson
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South Pole, January 26, 2007: Graduate students are ready to lift the cryostats.
Image Credit: Bradford Benson
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South Pole, January 26, 2007: John Carlstrom, Principal Investigator of the SPT, is looking at the detectors (the copper colored triangles), which will be cooled to about 0.3 K (0.3 degrees above absolute zero).
Image Credit: Bradford Benson
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South Pole, January 26, 2007: SPT mustaches at the South Pole.
Image Credit: Bradford Benson
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South Pole, January 24, 2007: The South Pole.
Image Credit: Kathryn Miknaitis

South Pole, January 23, 2007: The Gang's All Here! For a brief couple of weeks, we have assembled the entire SPT. 2006-2007 South Pole Science team - every scientist on the SPT project that's coming down this year. As you can see, we're quite a crew.
Image Credit: John Kovac

Lying down: Steve Padin

Kneeling (left to right): Tom Crawford, Kathryn Miknaitis, Tom Plagge, Matt Dobbs, Ryan Keisler

Standing, 1st row (left to right): Ken Aird, Zak Staniszewski, John Carlstrom, Joaquin Vieira, Martin Lueker, Erik Leitch, Jeff McMahon, Adrian Lee

Standing, back row (left to right): Clem Pryke, Steve Meyer, Brad Benson, Bill Holzapfel

South Pole, January 19, 2007: The telescope from the top of the Dark Sector Laboratory (the control room/lab attached to the telescope) .
Image Credit: Bradford Benson

South Pole, January 16, 2007: Jeff McMahon, Ryan Keisler, and Tom Crawford are about to head out to the Lab.
Image Credit: Kathryn Miknaitis

South Pole, January 12, 2007: Coming back from a night shift - a bunch of us disappearing into the white.
Image Credit: John Carlstrom

South Pole, January 11, 2007: The final (and possibly most complex) piece of the great puzzle that is the South Pole Telescope has arrived: The receiver.
Image Credit: Ryan Keisler

by Tom Crawford
So we're pretty excited to have the receiver here. And already together and about to undergo some pre-installments tests. Amazing as it may sound (at least, it sounds amazing to me), the crew of newly arrived SPT scientists working on the receiver managed to unpack the receiver, open it down to its guts, install the detectors, close the receiver back up, and get it on the vacuum pump and cooling down within about 48 hours of its (and their) arrival.

The receiver team of Bill Holzapfel, Adrian Lee, Brad Benson, Martin Lueker, and Tom Plagge (all from UC Berkeley) and Zak Staniszewski (from Case Western).
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South Pole, January 10, 2007: The South Pole Telescope site.
Image Credit: Bradford Benson

by Bradford Benson
From the main South Pole station (where most everyone eats and sleeps) to the telescope I'm working on is about a 1 kilometer walk. That doesnt sound like a lot, but it is when the wind chill is about 50 below zero. At this temperature, basically any exposed skin that you have will start to sting quite a bit by the end of the walk. There is usually a constant battle trying to cover your face completely, but not have your goggles or sunglasses fog up on the way.

South Pole, January 10, 2007: The telescope receiver: focal plane installed in the cryostat.
Image Credit: Bradford Benson
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South Pole, January 10, 2007: The telescope receiver: focal plane fully assembled.
Image Credit: Bradford Benson
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South Pole, January 10, 2007: Adrian Lee and Bradford Benson assembling the telescope camera/receiver.
Image Credit: Bradford Benson
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South Pole, January 10, 2007: Adrian Lee working on the receiver focal plane (six wedges of 160 detectors each).
Image Credit: Ryan Keisler
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South Pole, January 9, 2007: The telescope.
Image Credit: Bradford Benson

South Pole, January 8, 2007: The Dark Sector Laboratory, or DSL. It's called that because it's out in the "Dark Sector", where restrictions are placed on any lights or equipment that might interrupt the operation of the South Pole's telescopes.
Image Credit: Adrian Lee

South Pole, January 4, 2007: 43 days after we arrived, the reflector has been installed on the telescope!
Image Credit: Ryan Keisler

South Pole, January 4, 2007: And we're done! Iron worker Aaron Thompson rightfully celebrates the flawlessly executed lift of the telescope reflector.
Image Credit: Ryan Keisler

South Pole, January 3, 2007: The telescope, facing the horizon (grid east), seen from the roof of DSL.
Image Credit: Tom Crawford

South Pole, January 3, 2007: The telescope, facing the horizon (grid south), seen from the roof of DSL.
Image Credit: Tom Crawford

South Pole, January 3, 2007: The Reflector Is Up - As Bill Johnson and Aaron Thompson look on, the last of Steve Padin disappears into the maw.
Image Credit: Tom Crawford
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South Pole, January 3, 2007: Steve Padin, Joaquin Vieira, and Tim Hughes prepare to enter the belly of the beast (to attach the reflector center hub to the telescope).
Image Credit: Tom Crawford
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South Pole, January 3, 2007: The reflector in place.
Image Credit: Tom Crawford

South Pole, January 3, 2007: The Reflector Is Up - Ryan Keisler, Jeff McMahon, and Tom Crawford look on as the crane gently lowers the reflector into just the right place.
Image Credit: Jerry Marty

South Pole, January 3, 2007: The Reflector Is Up - Docking the flying saucer.
Image Credit: Tom Crawford
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South Pole, January 3, 2007: The Reflector Is Up - The lift begins.
Image Credit: Tom Crawford
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South Pole, January 2, 2007: The adapter cone is lifted onto the telescope.
Image Credit: Ryan Keisler

South Pole, December 31, 2006: New Year's Eve party.
Image Credit: Tom Crawford
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South Pole, December 31, 2006: New Year's Eve party.
Image Credit: Tom Crawford
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South Pole, December 30, 2006: The adapter cone is lifted onto the telescope.
Image Credit: Ryan Keisler

South Pole, December 29, 2006: The finished reflector is moved outdoors. Here Peter Huntlet and Tim Hughes take photos of the reflector in order to measure its surface (a technique known as photogrammetry).
Image Credit: Ryan Keisler

South Pole, December 25, 2006: Race Around the World: The First Lap Leader (Jeff McMahon) Finishes.
Image Credit: Tom Crawford
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South Pole, December 25, 2006: Race Around the World: And They're Off!
Image Credit: Tom Crawford
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South Pole, December 23, 2006: A sundog lights up the almost finished telescope mount.
Image Credit: Ryan Keisler

South Pole, December 22, 2006: All the Panels are on the reflector!
Image Credit: Jeff McMahon
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South Pole, December 22, 2006: Jeff McMahon and Steve Padin carefully placing gap-fillers. These are little copper strips that go between the panels to fill in the gaps of the surface.
Image Credit: Ryan Keisler

South Pole, December 22, 2006: The Leader of the Reflector Assembly Team, Steve Padin.
Image Credit: Bruce Staeheli

South Pole, December 20, 2006: Progress on the telescope.
Image Credit: Tom Crawford

South Pole, December 17, 2006: It begins to look like a telescope.
Image Credit: Ryan Keisler

South Pole, December 16, 2006: The Reflector Begins to Take Shape - Steve Padin checks the alignment job.
Image Credit: Tom Crawford
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South Pole, December 16, 2006: The Telescope Begins to Take Shape - Telescope with part of lower boom.
Image Credit: Tom Crawford
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The Exploratorium live webcast 'South Pole Telescope':
Nov 25, 2006 12:00 pm CST
Dec 2, 2006 12:00 pm CST
Dec 9, 2006 12:00 pm CST
Dec 29, 2006 12:00 am CST
Jan 13, 2007 12:00 am CST
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South Pole, December 15, 2006: Half of the lower boom of the telescope is installed.
Image Credit: Ryan Keisler

South Pole, December 14, 2006: The fun-loving ironworker crew, hard at work assembling the telescope.
Image Credit: Ryan Keisler

South Pole, December 14, 2006: Assembling the reflector panels.

South Pole, December 7, 2006: Installing the first 4 aluminum panels (only 214 to go!) . These panels make up the mirror surface, which is a large paraboloid.
Image Credit: Tom Crawford

South Pole, December 6, 2006:
Jeff McMahon and Steve Padin making theadolite measurements.
Image Credit: Ryan Keisler

South Pole, December 6, 2006: Jeff McMahon hard at work.
Image Credit: Ryan Keisler

South Pole, December 6, 2006: The Telescope.

South Pole, December 5, 2006: The new South Pole Station.
Image Credit: Ryan Keisler

South Pole, December 5, 2006:
Spontaneous gaiety outside the Dark Sector Laboratory.
Image Credit: Ryan Keisler

South Pole, December 1, 2006: Prep work on the reflector back-up structure (BUS) inside the shelter tent.
Image Credit: Tom Crawford
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South Pole, November 28, 2006: Completing the BUS and moving it the Dark Sector Laboratory, where the rest of the telescope is being built.

South Pole, November 28, 2006: Moving the reflector back-up structure (BUS) .

South Pole, November 28, 2006: The BUS on the move. The reflector back-up structure (BUS) was dragged into a large tent built to shelter us from the wind as we worked, and we could begin the prep work needed to place panels.
Image Credit: Tom Crawford
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South Pole, November 28, 2006: The BUS is together. As of late Tuesday night, the reflector back-up structure (BUS) is fully assembled, shimmed to its proper alignment, torqued up and ready to go.
Image Credit: Tom Crawford
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South Pole, November 25, 2006: Geographic South Pole.

South Pole, November 25, 2006: Thanksgiving.

South Pole, November 25, 2006: Thanksgiving.

South Pole, November 23, 2006: Building the reflector back-up structure (BUS).

South Pole, November 23, 2006: Building the reflector back-up structure (BUS).
Image Credit: Tom Crawford

South Pole, November 23, 2006: Building the reflector back-up structure (BUS).

South Pole, November 23, 2006: The boys of the Reflector Assembly Team (Jeff McMahon, Ryan Keisler, Joaquin Viera, and Tom Crawford) have arrived at the South Pole, and are, well, assembling the reflector.

South Pole, November 23, 2006: Snowmobile training.

South Pole, November 22, 2006: Arrival at the South Pole.

November 22, 2006: To the South Pole.

November 22, 2006: To the South Pole.

November 22, 2006: To the South Pole.