You can watch the Sun come up at the South Pole thanks to a web cam at the Antarctic Astrophysical Site Testing Obsrvatory. Click here for a larger image and for realtime views of the South Pole. Requires Shockwave . Every year around this time thousands of penguins rejoice to see the Sun peep above the Antarctic horizon. The return of sunlight after nearly 6 months of chilly darkness means it's time to shed a few pounds of blubber, find a mate, and bask in the sunshine.
Spring is in the air.
On the other end of the world, sun-dappled puddles of water are freezing at the north pole, while Arctic bears are pondering hibernation. The north polar Sun, circling downward on a horizon-skirting 360 degree spiral, will soon be gone. Younger students should read the appropriate Kid's Story below, which summarizes the grown-up headline. Content area reading is when students are not learning to read but are reading to learn information. The last and first paragraphs summarize and rephrase the main concepts of the article.