The aurora australis — the Southern Lights — are seen over the National Science Foundation's new Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station. The eerie visual effect arises when charged particles blown off the Sun (the 'solar wind') are caught in the Earth's magnetic field and travel along the field lines, colliding with molecules of oxygen and nitrogen in the atmosphere.
Credit: Jonathan Berry, NSF

This photo, taken at the South Pole on Jan. 18, 1912, shows British explorer Robert Falcon Scott (far left) and his party at the tent erected by Norwegian Roald Amundsen, who became the first man to reach the Pole on Dec. 14, 1911. The flag of Norway flies above the tent. From left to right: Scott, Titus Oates, E.A. Wilson and E.R. Evans.
Credit: Lieutenant Henry Bowers, ©Royal Geographic Society

A panoramic view of the area around the new station shows its location in relation to other landmarks. This image was taken in 200x.
Credit: J. Dana Hrubes, Space Sciences Laboratory, South Pole station

This watercolor is only one of many art works by Robert Charles Haun, who served as staff artist to the naval mission at the South Pole. He was there during the 1955-56 season and produced 75 pictures in various media. For more information, see: http://www.history.navy.mil/ac/artist/h/haun/haun1.html
Credit: Naval Historical Center Art Collection

The U.S. Navy South Pole station was built by the Seabees, the U.S. Naval Construction Force. For more on this organization, see http://www.seabee.navy.mil
Credit: U.S. Navy

The geodesic dome was deconstructed during the 2009-2010 austral summer. Some of the materials were shipped to the US Navy's Seabee in Port Hueneme, Calif. for permanent, as they were the unit that built the Dome in the early 1970s.
Credit: Forest Banks / National Science Foundation: main image
Jerry Marty / National Science Foundation: inset