They came to the South Pole, enduring months of bitter cold, darkness, and isolation, to peer at the galaxy's center through clear, dry skies. And in December, they - scientists from the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA) - declared "mission accomplished."
After 11 years, the Antarctic Submillimeter Telescope and Remote Observatory, AST/RO, was dismantled last fall. The 1.7- meter telescope was boxed up for transport and now sits on the snow, awaiting a decision on its next stop.
