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It appears the attempt failed, at least for now. https://secure3.aad.gov.au/proms/public/schedules/display_sitrep.cfm?bvs_id=19314

Well the Australian stations are run by the Aussie Federal Government directly - the jobs aren't outsourced to some third party. Check out their web site at http://www.aad.gov.au/ to find out what they get up to.

So, does the South pole shift as well?

Yes.

To where?

Antarctica isn't divided up into countries, so it's moving from Antarctica to Antarctica*. That's like saying it's gone from the middle of nowhere (with penguins) to also the middle of nowhere (with penguins): there's just no way of making that an attention grabbing story, despite the penguins.

*To be technical, magnetic South is near the edge of the sea ice rather than on the continent, which means it's moving from a really cold bit of ocean to another, slightly less cold bit of ocean. While that does entail more penguins, it's still not that interesting.

So I checked, and according to the Australian Antarctic Division:

So there you have it. Thanks again for the pic, and don't fret, APOD is never off-topic!

Is it possible that other processes might start to consume ozone, an Arctic ozone hole for example? We don't know. Periodically, large depletions in ozone (more than 10-20%) have been reported from the high northern latitudes. While the processes that lead to this decrease are similar to those at the Antarctic, the pattern has not been similar. The Arctic polar vortex is weaker than the Antarctic one. Stratospheric temperatures at the Arctic are not as low as those at the Antarctic, hence PSC formation is reduced. However, global warming . may strengthen the Arctic polar vortex. We already know that stratospheric temperatures are falling, so it is possible that an Arctic ozone hole could develop in the future. It would likely be smaller and weaker than the Antarctic hole, but could have serious consequences for Canadians.

Scientists investigating the 2006 ozone hole have used a range of instruments to measure ozone concentrations, including satellites, balloons, and ground-based spectrometers and gas samplers. Measurements showed that the area of the hole was greatest on 24 September, with an area of approximately 29 million square kilometres, more than twice the area of Antarctica.

My Geology professors had an interesting solution when they went to Antartica in the late 1970's and had to name all sorts of newly discovered features, some got named after themselves. If you don't believe me here it is.

Mount Ojakangas:
http://aadc-maps.aad.gov.au/aadc/gaz/display_name. cfm?gaz_id=129623

Matsch Ridge:
http://aadc-maps.aad.gov.au/aadc/gaz/display_name. cfm?gaz_id=128547

My Geology professors had an interesting solution when they went to Antartica in the late 1970's and had to name all sorts of newly discovered features, some got named after themselves. If you don't believe me here it is.

Mount Ojakangas:
http://aadc-maps.aad.gov.au/aadc/gaz/display_name. cfm?gaz_id=129623

Matsch Ridge:
http://aadc-maps.aad.gov.au/aadc/gaz/display_name. cfm?gaz_id=128547

The Antartic has beed divided up already and Australia has a majority stake in it, Australian Antartic Territory has its own stamps these days and is counted as part of Australia's territories along with places such as Papua New Guinne and Christmas Island (of goatse fame)

Australia came to own this stake in 1961 when a treaty was signed by us and 11 other countries and since then 45 more countries have signed the agreement.

More information here and a complete list of signitories here

A nifty map can be found in PDF form here

And an example of the stamps here

note New Zealands crappy share... suck on that kiwi's

The Antartic has beed divided up already and Australia has a majority stake in it, Australian Antartic Territory has its own stamps these days and is counted as part of Australia's territories along with places such as Papua New Guinne and Christmas Island (of goatse fame)

Australia came to own this stake in 1961 when a treaty was signed by us and 11 other countries and since then 45 more countries have signed the agreement.

More information here and a complete list of signitories here

A nifty map can be found in PDF form here

And an example of the stamps here

note New Zealands crappy share... suck on that kiwi's

The Antartic has beed divided up already and Australia has a majority stake in it, Australian Antartic Territory has its own stamps these days and is counted as part of Australia's territories along with places such as Papua New Guinne and Christmas Island (of goatse fame)

Australia came to own this stake in 1961 when a treaty was signed by us and 11 other countries and since then 45 more countries have signed the agreement.

More information here and a complete list of signitories here

A nifty map can be found in PDF form here

And an example of the stamps here

note New Zealands crappy share... suck on that kiwi's

territorial map

Yes, it does get colder there.

...this. Currently pitch black, 9AM, -13degC and 90km/h winds. Brrrrrrrrr.

Seriously, is it such a big threat compared to frostbite, freezing to death if your car breaks down, roads covered in snow, slush, salt and sometimes ice, or driving on the French side of the road? (-:

Don't spend your life sunbaking, do eat fresh food and exercise a bit and your odds against skin cancer are good. In short, be sensible. It's nothing like the ad in the leaders before Terminator 2. (-:

Also, if you like cold, perhaps we could find you a job at Mawson Station?

Gentoo penguins (Pygoscelis papua) breed on subantarctic islands and on the Antarctic Peninsula in small to large colonies. Larger populations of gentoo penguins are found at South Georgia, the Falkland Islands and the Iles Kerguelen.

Gentoo penguins are the least abundant of the penguins found on the subantarctic islands, with a total breeding population of approximately 314 000 pairs.

Unlike other penguin species, gentoo penguins may breed as early as two years of age.

The gentoo penguin is a medium sized penguin, standing 75-90cm tall and the females are smaller than the male birds.

So here's some obligatory Gentoo links for you zoologoy freaks:

Gentoo penguin : "The Gentoo penguin is a member of the genus Pygoscelis, which contains two other members, the Adelie and the Chinstrap. When inspecting the three, the Adelie looks more like the odd one in the group of three. Chinstraps and Gentoos share more morphological features, but the Gentoo is the most colorful of the three with its orangish beak and pinkish-orange feet. They can also be positively identified by an interorbit band of plumage that runs superiorly over the head."

Pete & Barbara's Page : "Males have their maximum weight of about 8 kg just before moulting and their minimum weight of about 5.5kg just before mating. For females the maximum weight is 7.5kg just before moulting but their weight drops to below 5 kg when guarding the chicks in the nest."

Gentoo Penguin: 10 Facts : "Adults can be found throughout the year on breeding islands indicating that they are relatively sedentary. They feed on Rock cod, amphipods and cephalopods (mainly squid). Females tend to eat more krill than the males, while the males tend to eat more fish than the females. It is thought that gentoo penguins are gregarious at sea."

Penguin Chicks : Come on... everyone loves baby animals! :)