The 2021 Pole Marker

Here is the newly unveiled Pole marker for 2021! (DJ)

Here is a closer look showing the ecliptic (solar elevation) line (AD).


Another view of the top of the marker (AD).


Here's an interesting aerial view of the past few Pole marker locations from Bill Coughran, who pointed out that the Ceremonial Pole is at the location of the 2000 Pole, and the Australian flag is at the exact Pole location that year...a tribute to Rodney Marks who passed at Pole that winter.

The Pole marker is conceived during the previous winter...this one was designed by South Pole Telescope astronomer Geoffrey Chen and produced by machinist Cal Neske. As the pandemic caused a major cutback in summer staffing, both Geoffrey and Cal were around for the traditional ceremony held on New Years Day. Folks line up to pass the American flag from the old marker to the new marker location about 33 feet away...this is because the polar ice moves that distance in a year's time.

The beginning of the flag pass (ChrisN).	Moving the flag down the line (ChrisN).
Another view of the flag being passed along (ER).	Geoffrey Chen who designed the marker during his 2020 winter was still around and he got to unveil it (MW)(IC).

Above: a photo of the marker before it was installed (CNeske).

More detail on the design of the stunning 2021 South Pole marker, unveiled on New Year's Day: the top hemisphere of the marker is aluminum, representing the six months of night (including twilight) at 90º South, with selected Southern Hemisphere constellations, Scorpius, Lupus, Centaurus and the Southern Cross. The lower hemisphere is brass, representing the six months of day. An image of the elevated building of the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station appears across the bottom.

Here is Geoffrey Chen's original design submittal for the Pole marker. (CNeske)

The marker being milled. (CNeske)

The rising/setting Sun of the Equinox is inspired by the classical 12-point compass rose of the previous 2020 South Pole Marker. The dates of the equinox sunset, winter solstice, equinox sunrise and summer solstice are engraved on the side, along with a plot of the solar elevation. On the pole below, the names appear of the 42 winter-over personnel of 2020. The 2021 marker was designed by Geoffrey Chen, astronomer at the South Pole Telescope, and crafted by machinist Cal Neske, both 2020 winter-overs.

Photo and other credits: CNeske is Cal Neske, the 2020 winterover machinist who fabricated the marker; DJ is DJ Jennings; AD is the South Pole Area Manager Andrea Dixon; ChrisN is Chris Nelson; ER is Ethan Rudnitsky; and MW is IceCuber Martin Wolf. He posted this and other photos on the IceCube Week 52 news report. Information about the marker design was shared to The Antarctic Report by South Pole Telescope.