News & Highlights
SPT Science Highlights
November 13, 2023: The SPTpol-Extended Cluster Survey (SPT-ECS, Bleem et al. 2020) result was recognized by IOP as one of the top-cited papers of 2023!Â
June 5, 2023: Using data from JWST, SPT scientists at Illinois detect complex organic molecules in a SPT-discovered galaxy (SPT0418-47) at z=4.225!, Illinois News Office and Nature News
January 31, 2023: Using data from the Dark Energy Survey and the South Pole Telescope, scientists release a newly accurate map of all the matter in the Universe!, The University of Chicago News Office
August 30, 2022: SPT discovered distant galaxy included in early JWST science observations!
May 12, 2022: Astronomers reveal image of the black hole at the heart of our galaxy!, The University of Chicago News Office
March 30, 2022: New dark matter constraints from SPT-3G: "Searching for axion-llike time-dependent cosmic birefringence with data from SPT-3G" https://arxiv.org/abs/2203.16567
November 3, 2021: Water detected in the SPT-discovered galaxy, SPT0311-58, formed nearly 13 billion years ago, just 780 million years after the Big Bang!
October 4, 2021: New SPT-3G measurements of the CMB power spectrum selected as an "Editors Suggestion" for Phys Rev D! Â
July 19, 2021: Event Horizon Telescope takes pioneering image of a massive jet spewing from a black hole!, The University of Chicago News Office
September 23, 2021: New analysis of EHT observations of M87 reveal a wobbling black hole!, The University of Chicago News Office
March 10, 2021: Stellar flares detected in the SPT-3G survey "Detection of Galactic and Extragalactic Millimeter-Wavelength Transient Sources with SPT-3G" https://arxiv.org/abs/2103.06166
January 5, 2021: First SPT-3G science results posted on arxiv! "Measurements of the E-Mode Polarization and Temperature-E-Mode Correlation of the CMB from SPT-3G 2018 Data" https://arxiv.org/abs/2101.01684
February 6, 2020: Scientists use light from the Big Bang to weigh massive galaxies from the Dark Energy Survey!, The University of Chicago News Office
October 15, 2019: SPT scientists use giant galaxy clusters as a magnifying glass for X-rays!, The University of Chicago News Office
September 6, 2019: SPT scientists share in the Breakthrough Prize for Physics from their work on the Event Horizon Telescope!, The University of Chicago News Office
October 31, 2019: Leftover Big Bang light helps calculate how massive faraway galaxies are! The University of Chicago News Office
April 10, 2019: Astronomers capture historic first image of the event horizon of a black hole from the EHT!, The University of Chicago News Office
April 20, 2018: Cosmologists Can't Agree on the Hubble Constant, American Physical Society
September 10, 2018: Next-generation SPT-3G camera takes its first measurements of the early Universe!
December 6, 2017: ALMA follow up of SPT discovered galaxies, Phys.org
April 21, 2017: The Event Horizon Telescope (with SPT) takes its first observations aiming to image the shadow from supermassive black holes! The University of Chicago News Office
January 2014: SPT's measurement of B-mode polarization chosen as one of Physics World's Top Ten Breakthroughs of 2013, Physics World
March 13, 2013: 'Nuisance' data lead to surprising star-birth discovery, The University of Chicago News Office
September 5, 2012: SPT data finds that first stars, galaxies formed earlier than expected!, The University of Chicago News Office
August 15, 2012: Phoenix Cluster Sets Record Pace at Forming Stars, NASA; Giant galaxy cluster sets record pace for creating stars, The University of Chicago News Office
April 2, 2012: South Pole Telescope homes in on dark energy, neutrinos, The University of Chicago News Office
Interviews and Outreach Videos
May 23, 2023: Interview with Illinois PhD student Melanie Archipley!
May 17, 2023: Interview with Fermilab/UChicago scientist Bradford Benson!
March 28, 2023: APS Podcast with SPT Winterover and Case Western PhD student Allen Foster: Life at the South Pole Science StationÂ
January 11, 2023: SPT Winterover and U. Melbourne PhD student Aman Chokshi chosen to have one of the Best 25 Aurora Photos of 2022!
November 5, 2022: SPT selected as Astronomy's Picture of the Day (APOD) using photo from SPT winterover Aman Chokshi!
October 17, 2022: Interview with SPT winterover and PhD student Aman Choskhi!, Space.com
September 5, 2022: SPT winterover Aman Chokshi wins "Best Cinematography for a Timelapse Video" at the Winter International Film Festival of Antarctica!Â
August 12, 2022: "Getting to know" SPT Scientist John Carlstrom!
July 2022: Check out the new Big Bang Board game from SPT Scientist Lloyd Knox and collaborators at UC-Davis!
July 25, 2022: Greasing Telescope Gears During a 7-Month-Long Night! Interview with SPT winterover Allen Foster!
July 11, 2022: An interview with SPT Scientist Dr. Sasha Rahlin!
May 13, 2022: SPT scientist John Carlstrom describes the quest to take an image of the black hole at the center of the Milky Way!
February 16, 2022: A tour of the SPT from winterover and Scientist Dr. Sasha Rahlin, in the popular Joe Spins the Globe Youtube series!
January 19, 2022: An interview with SPT Scientist Dr. Sasha Rahlin, in the popular Joe Spins the Globe Youtube series!
January 9, 2022: Follow SPT Scientist Dr. Sasha Rahlin in her walk out to the SPT, in the popular Joe Spins the Globe Youtube series!
January 5, 2022: Two SPT scientists discuss what its like to work at the bottom of the Earth at the South Pole!
July 15, 2021: SPT Scientist Dr. Amy Bender discusses her work on the CMB and SPT!
July 9, 2021: Animation of the predicted CMB power spectrum peaks by SPT scientists Forrest Frankhauser and Lloyd Knox from UC-Davis!
June 30, 2021: How the SPT can weigh in on the Hubble Tension!
June 29, 2021: SPT Scientist Dr. Tyler Natoli lends his musical skills to this video about the history of the Universe!
June 7, 2021: SPT featured in the Netflix Documentary "Black Holes: The Edge of All We Know"!
May 13, 2021: Scientist Junhan Kim discusses his time at the South Pole working on the EHT receiver on SPT (in Korean!)
April 30, 2021: Photo of rare "Moon Dog" by SPT scientist Dr. Matt Young is featured by Forbes!
December 23, 2020: Video of the SPT-3G focal plane assembly is now on Youtube!
November 8, 2020: SPT Winterover Matt Young gives a TedX talk about his work at the South Pole!
October 30, 2020: APS has this nice article about the BICEP Array and South Pole Telescope search for Primordial Gravitational Waves!
October 30, 2020: SPT Winterover Allen Foster talks about his life during his winter at the South Pole!Â
October 20, 2020: Visit SPT Winterover Allen Foster's blog describing his 1-year at the South Pole!
September 7, 2020: Amazing Aurora-filled video of the CMB telescopes at the South Pole doing their observations by BICEP winterover Robert Schwarz!
August 25, 2020: SPT Scientist Kimmy Wu walks into a bar ... virtually!
April 20, 2018: Cosmologists Can't Agree on the Hubble Constant, American Physical Society
February 4, 2016: Chicago Scientists Prepare Ultra-Sensitive Camera for South Pole Telescope, Chicago Tonight
South Pole News
November 15, 2023: 2024 SPT winterovers Josh Veitch-Michaelis and Kevin Zagorski have arrived at the South Pole!
November 1, 2023: For the 2023-24 Austral summer season, the first SPT collaboration team members started their journey South, including our 2024 winterovers Josh Veitch-Michaelis and Kevin Zagorski!
March 16, 2023: Now accepting applications for 2024 Winterovers! We are accepting applications for both the two SPT winterovers and the MAPO Science Machinist, more details at:
For the SPT winterover positions apply at: https://uchicago.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com/External/job/South-Pole/XMLNAME-10-meter-South-Pole-Telescope-Winter-Over_JR21076
For the MAPO Science machinist position apply at: https://uchicago.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com/External/job/South-Pole/South-Pole-Machinist_JR21077
February 15, 2023: Last flight of the Austral summer was today, with only Alex and Kyle left behind to run SPT this winter! The experiment is in capable hands, have a great winter Alex and Kyle!
November 29, 2022: After a delay in Christchurch and McMurdo due to a Covid outbreak in Antarctica, the first SPT people of the summer have arrived at South Pole! This includes the 2023 winter-overs Kyle Ferguson and Alex Pollak! In a couple days, we will officially end 2022 observations of our main 1500 square degree survey field, and take the telescope offline for most of the week to do regular maintenance during the Austral summer.
October 31, 2022: South Pole station has officially opened for Austral summer! Winter survey operations will continue through the end of November, however its been a successful observing season for Aman and Allen, with the SPT-3G survey depth equaling the previous three years (i.e., the 2019, 2020, and 2021 winter observing seasons).
March 27, 2022: The SPT has successfully finished observing supermassive black holes with the EHT's 2022 campaign! Winter-overs Allen and Aman had to take down the EHT secondary and tertiary mirrors in -60°C, before moving back to regular SPT-3G survey observing!
November 2, 2021: First flight of the 2021-2022 Austral summer season arrives at South Pole! New winter-overs Aman Chokshi and Allen Foster, are scheduled to arrive soon to replace 2021 winter-overs Sasha Rahlin and Matt Young, who are just finishing a successful 2021 observing season!
November, 2020: SPT-3G has completed its 2020 winter observing season! The 2020 observing season was fortunately unaffected by Covid, with SPT-3G achieving record sensitivity and efficiency! Congrats to winter-overs Allen Foster and Geoff Chen for a fantastic season!Â
March 30, 2020: SPT-3G begins its 2020 winter observing season! SPT-3G is continuing to observe our 1500 square degree survey field, which overlaps with the BICEP Array survey, as part of the South Pole Observatory (SPO)!Â
December, 2019: The SPT-3G experiment has completed its 2019 winter observing season! Winter-overs Doug Howe and David Riebel have left Pole after finishing a successful 2019 austral-winter observing season at the South Pole! A small austral-summer crew relived them, to complete observing the 1500 sq. deg. SPT-3G survey patch for another month, before beginning annual maintenance on the telescope and camera.
November 2017: SPT-3G camera upgrade begins. Scientists working on the South Pole Telescope (SPT) project have made the long-journey to Antarctica to begin work on the SPT-3G camera. The goal for this summer season is to bring the SPT-3G camera up to full sensitivity following its initial installation in Jan 2017. The upgraded camera will have more than 10x more detectors than its predecessor, SPTpol, and will be used to make an ultra-sensitive map of CMB polarization across 1500 sq. degrees.