The SPT team at the South Pole, including Fermilab scientists Benson and Rahlin, pose for a group picture underneath the 10-meter diameter SPT telescope.
The SPT-3G experiment began its 2020 winter observing season on March 23, 2020. The SPT-3G camera on the South Pole Telescope (SPT) is undertaking a 1500 square degree survey of the cosmic microwave background, the light left over from the Big Bang. SPT is located at the geographic South Pole, and takes some of its best measurements during the austral winter, after the Sun sets in mid-March. In February 2020, Fermilab scientists Bradford Benson and Alexandra Rahlin returned from the South Pole, after performing maintenance on the telescope and camera, to ready it for this winter season. The team plans to continue the SPT-3G survey through the 2023 observing season.