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July 25, 2006

Sundog around radome

A sundog appears around the partially completed MARISAT and GOES satellite communications dish radome at Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station in Antarctica. A sundog is a parhelion caused by diffraction of ice crystals in the air.

More about this image
The MARISAT GOES Terminal (SPMGT) satellite communications antenna platform provides approximately 11.5 hours of high-speed satellite communications a day to the world through ground stations in Maryland and Florida that support telephone, e-mail and internet communications.

Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station uses communications satellites that serve as relay stations, receiving radio signals from one location and transmitting them to another.

Amundsen-Scott is one of three U.S. research stations on the Antarctic continent. All of the stations are operated by the National Science Foundation's U.S. Antarctic Program (USAP). Further information about USAP is available Here. [Note: Please see "Special Restrictions" below regarding use of this image.] (Date of Image: December 2004)

Credit: Nick Powell, NSF

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