The 10-meter South Pole Telescope and the BICEP (Background Imaging of Cosmic Extragalactic Polarization) Telescope at Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station, against the night sky with the Milky Way. The red lights are used to minimize light pollution, but still enable people to see while walking to and from the facility during the six months of darkness.
Both of these telescopes collect data on cosmic microwave background radiation and black matter. Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station is one of three U.S. research stations on the Antarctic continent.
All of the stations are operated by the National Science Foundations U.S. Antarctic Program (USAP). Further information about USAP is available Here. To learn more about the South Pole Telescope, visit the facilitys Web site. (Date of Image: August 2008)
Larger image Credit: Keith Vanderlinde, National Science Foundation
