Ottobre 2026 – W.A.P.

New Zealand’s Scott Base WAP NZL-Ø1(opened 20 January 1957) together with Swan Base (WAP NZL-Ø2) and Worldpack Base (WAP NZL-Ø3) is one of three New Zealand’s Station in Antarctica. The annual seasonal flag ceremony has taken place last oct. 7^th 2026 marking the official start of the 2026/27 summer season. Supported by the New Zealand Defence Force contingent, the ceremony involves swapping the seasonal flags and symbolizes a new chapter as summer operations get underway.

The winter flag is lowered, and the summer flag is raised to signify a new chapter of increased scientific research, busier operations, and additional personnel arriving on the ice

A cherished tradition for the Scott Base community, the ceremony brings people together to recognize those who have served through the previous season and welcome the team arriving for the busy months ahead.

With more people arriving, more science taking place, and the pace of activity increasing across the program, it’s an exciting time of year in Antarctica, contributing to New Zealand’s Antarctic presence, both at Scott Base and behind the scenes.

While wishing everyone a nice summer season, WAP says:

Once, Scott Base (WAP NZL-Ø1) was active on HF put on the air by Hamradio operators. Since many years now (last contacts are dated +/- 2002 or so), nobody is giving the WW Hams a chance to work and log Scott Base which has become one of the rarest one in Antarctica. It will be great to get a chance for a contact … a little bit of goodwill would be enough!

Nobel prize in physics goes to Prof. Francis Halzen for South Pole work on neutrinos.

Belgian physicist praised for work on the IceCube detector that observes the ghost-like particles in Antarctica.

The U.S. National Science Foundation congratulates Prof. Francis Halzen on winning the 2026 Nobel Prize in physics for his major contributions to the NSF IceCube Neutrino Observatory and its discoveries of elusive neutrino particles that come to Earth from distant places in the universe. Over more than two decades, NSF invested in the design, construction, and ongoing operations of IceCube, which has enabled greater understanding of astrophysical neutrinos and their origins.

When it was first proposed to NSF in the 1990s, IceCube was an ambitious vision for a scientific facility unlike any other. Halzen and other scientists devised a plan to put thousands of digital detectors more than two kilometers deep in the crystal-clear ice of the South Pole, an ideal location to spot neutrinos. Oftentimes called “ghost particles,” neutrinos exist in great quantities but normally pass straight through Earth undetected. Just detecting a single neutrino is a daunting challenge, but IceCube was made to detect many — and determine where they are coming from.

Prof Francis Halzen, a Belgian particle physicist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, led work on the IceCube neutrino Observatory, which made the first detection of high-energy extraterrestrial neutrinos in 2013, soon after it was switched on.

Announcing the prize on Tuesday October 6, 2026, the Nobel committee said Halzen won “for decisive contributions to the IceCube neutrino observatory and the discovery of high-energy neutrinos of astrophysical origin”

Pic to the right, show the IceCube Neutrino Observatory at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station,(WAP USA-36) in Antarctica.
Photo credit to: Martin Wolf/IceCube/NSF

From Antarctic Ice to the Nobel Prize!
Heartiest congratulations to Prof. Francis Halzen on being awarded the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physics for the groundbreaking work behind the IceCube Neutrino Observatory at the South Pole. A proud moment for the entire polar science community. May this remarkable discovery inspire India to make new frontiers in polar science and exploration.
A first comments came. TNX VU3BPZ Bhagwati Prasad.