The rescue was done in conjunction with Chinese icebreaker Xue Long, whose helicopter ferried the stranded passengers from their ship in groups of 12, to the landing pad of the
Aurora Australis. The Dubai-owned icebreaker had to abandon an initial rescue attempt when it could not negotiate the thick summer ice and fierce snow and winds.
And he tweeted after arriving onboard: "We've made it to the
Aurora australis safe & sound.
Several attempts to break through to the ship by sea - by the Xue Long,
Aurora Australis and French-flagged L'Astrolabe - failed because of the thickness of the ice.
P & O Polar were incredibly helpful, even to the point of hosting the launch of Sophie Scott on the bridge of the
Aurora Australis, especially operations manager Simon Estella.
These images reveal that the auroras in the two hemispheres can be totally asymmetric, contradicting the common assumption (which Birkeland and others held) that the aurora borealis and
aurora australis are mirror images of each other.
Russell Cockman (Melbourne) 11:35-12:35 UT photographed red rayed arc of
Aurora Australis.
This usually happens only near Earth's North Pole or South Pole (where they are called the
aurora australis, or southern lights), due to the shape of Earth's magnetic field.
Other items up for sale included a 5ft builder's model of Scott's expedition ship, Terra Nova, Scott's dressing box and a very rare first edition of "
Aurora Australis", the first book ever printed and published on the Antarctic continent.
My first trip was in 2005, as an Antarctic Australian Arts Fellow, leaving from Tasmania on the ice breaker
Aurora Australis, travelling to Mawson Station and Casey Station on the Antarctic continent and then on to the sub-Antarctic Macquarie Island.
Astronauts on the International Space Station snapped this picture of the
aurora australis, or southern lights, as they flew over New Zealand.
Molecules colliding with the sun's rays cause this fabulous light show known as the aurora borealis and the
aurora australis, which will be seen over the North and South Poles of Earth.
Aurora Australis from Madagascar to southwest of Australia