Hi-Def Pics - Magnificent Antarctica

Antarctica is a place that we've all heard of and are curious about. November marks the end of spring and the beginning of austral summer. The Sun just rose for the first time in 6 months on September 22nd, and is now visible in the sky all the time. Even though most of us will probably never go there, we can all enjoy Antarctica through these beautiful photos.

Above, a person stands silhouetted by the South Pole sunset on April 6, 2008. The sun dipped below the horizon on March 20th and did not appear again until September 22nd. (Calee Allen/National Science Foundation)

Adelie penguins launch themselves out of the frigid water onto the ice on December 31, 2005. (Patrick Rowe/National Science Foundation)

Palmer Station seen from the ocean on June 10, 2006. Palmer Station is the smallest of the three U.S. Antarctic Program research stations, located on Anvers Island, near the Antarctic Peninsula. (Glenn E. Grant/National Science Foundation)

A molting emperor penguin seen on January 3, 2007. (Carlie Reum/National Science Foundation)

Sculptured iceberg in North Bay, Rothera Point, Adelaide Island, Antarctica. (© Pete Bucktrout/British Antarctic Survey)

The aurora australis over the Dark Sector at Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station on June 3, 2008. The Dark Sector is so-named due to the absence of light and radio wave interfence. The bright spot above the ground shield in the foreground is Jupiter. The white streaks of light going up are the Milky Way. (Keith Vanderlinde/National Science Foundation)

A view of the Antarctic coast from the Research Vessel NATHANIEL B. PALMER in April of 2007. (Patrick Rowe/National Science Foundation)

A person stands underneath a natural arch in a glacier at Norsel Point, Anvers Island, Antarctica on July 30, 2006. (Glenn Grant/National Science Foundation)

A full moon and 25 second exposure allowed sufficient light into this photo taken at Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station during the long Antarctic night in July of 2005. The new station can be seen at far left, power plant in the center and the old mechanic's garage in the lower right. Red lights are used outside during the winter darkness as their spectrum does not pollute the sky, allowing scientists to conduct astrophysical studies without artificial light interference. The green light in the sky is the aurora australis. (Chris Danals/National Science Foundation)

The former Russian icebreaker and now cruiseliner Kapitan Khlebnikov breaks through the annual sea ice near the Oates Coast of Antarctica on January 29, 2005. (Mike Usher/National Science Foundation)

US Antarctic Program participant DJ Jennings shows his frozen beard on October 26, 2006. (DJ Jennings/National Science Foundation)

The Dome at Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station is seen above a field of sastrugi - ridges of snow formed by wind erosion on October 29, 2003. (Bill McAfee/National Science Foundation)

A cable portrudes from the ice wall at Explorer's Cover, New Harbor, McMurdo Sound in this photo taken on November 12, 2005. The cable was used for the Remotely Operable Micro-Environmental Observatory (ROMEO), an underwater camera. Connected to onshore equipment and linked by radio to the Internet, ROMEO allowed scientists to study benthic fauna year-round. (Steve Clabuesch/National Science Foundation)

Icebergs near the Antarctic Peninsula in September 2002. (Jeffrey Kietzmann/National Science Foundation)

A killer whale (viewed from above) swims amid floating ice in the Ross Sea in January of 2005. Researchers from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Southwest Fisheries Science Center were studying the whales to determine if there are three separate species of Antarctic killer whales. (Donald LeRoi, NOAA Southwest Fisheries Science Center/National Science Foundation)

Courtesy of the Boston Globe

More Hi-Def Pics:
World Animal Day (18 photos)
Beautiful Days of Autumn (14 photos)
Earth From Above: Stunning Images (22 photos)
The Sun and All Its Glory (11 photos)
Hi-Def Pics - Air Racing: Budapest and Porto (14 photos)
A Heavy Taliban Combat Area: Afghanistan's Korengal Valley (15 photos)