Last LC-130 for the Summer 2008-09 by Ella Derbyshire

Nikon D80's

Here is the last plane of the summer season of 2008-2009 at the South Pole. It is a Hercules LC-130, fondly called a "skier" or a "Herc" by the folks at the Pole. The LC-130's are the work horses of Antarctica, bringing fuel, supplies and mail to Pole. This plane will fly off in just a few minutes with the last half dozen folks left over from our summer crew, leaving only the winter crew members behind.

You can't help but notice all the cloudy material in this photograph. Some of it is water vapor produced by the power plant. But most of the cloud is from the plane. With temperatures in the -50's F, contrails have become a big problem.

Late in October or early in November, we will see our next plane. Until then, there is no mail, no fuel delivery or supplies and no new people.

Now we get to work to winterize the station and then, with everything put away, we will wait for sunset and 6 months of darkness. It is going to be a very interesting winter.

The 23 images of this panorama were photographed with a Nikon D80 and stitched with Autopano Pro.