Panoramic shots of the Antarctic: now everyone can become a polar explorer!

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Alex Stearns, Technical Program Manager, Street View,


Far in the Winter of 1913, one of the British newspapers published an advertisement about the organization of the next imperial expedition to Antarctica. It read: “I am looking for those who wish to go on a dangerous journey. Low salary, piercing cold, long hours of pitch darkness. A small chance of a successful return. If successful, heroes will receive honors and recognition. Ernest Shackleton. " The authenticity of this announcement is still in question, but the danger of traveling to the South Pole is beyond doubt. Many researchers were convinced of this in their experience, seeking to be one of the first at the South Pole. Among them: Roald Amundsen, Robert Falcon Scott and Ernest Shackleton.        


In September 2010, we launched the firstpanoramic images of the Antarctic , thanks to which users were able to get to know the Antarctic penguins better. Today we bring to your attention additional images of historically significant places of Antarctica, the collection of which will be posted on the World Wonders project website . There you will find more detailed information about the history of the development of the South Pole without leaving your comfortable chair.





Through collaboration with the University of Minnesota’s Polar Geospatial Data Center and the New Zealand Antarctic Heritage Foundation, we were able to expand the continent’s panoramic imagery base and made it possible to study many interesting and important places online, such as the South Pole Telescope, Shackleton 's Cabin, Scott's Cabin and Cape Royds, home to the Adelie Penguin Colony .
 

South Pole Telescope 



The interior of the Shackleton Hut, reflecting the real conditions of life on Antarctic expeditions of the early 20th century. The room has preserved everything from medicines and food to candles and cargo sleds.  


Thanks to modern technology, you can look into Shackleton’s Hut and other small wooden buildings, which were the only protection for polar explorers from extreme weather conditions. They were used for only a few years, but even today, about a century later, they have been preserved almost unchanged along with the situation and household items inside.


Panorama around Scott Hut. For the first Antarctic researchers, such transfer points with vital supplies were the only sources of warmth and comfort in these cold and inhospitable places.    

New panoramic shots were taken with an ultra-wide-angle camera on a portable tripod. This technology is simple and reliable. The trikes that we often use for shooting are unlikely to be useful in such snowy places.   

The goal of this project is to provide scientists, researchers and simply lovers of nature and travel around the world with access to the most accurate information about important places of the South Pole. Thanks to clear high-resolution images, students will be able to count the number of penguin colony on Snow Hill Island, and geologists will be able to study the Dry Valleys directly on a computer screen.

Take a fascinating journey to the Antarctic. You do not need boots and mittens!

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