September 21, 2026
For centuries, one of the most influential geographic ideas about the southern hemisphere rested on remarkably thin evidence. Claudius Ptolemy’s world map, based on knowledge compiled in the second century AD and revived during the Renaissance, depicted the Indian Ocean as a vast enclosed sea, bounded to the south by an unknown landmass.
September 18, 2026
On 17 January 1773, the two ships became the first known vessels to cross the Antarctic Circle. Commanded by James Cook and Tobias Furneaux, the expedition was searching for the supposed southern continent, but what the sailors encountered instead was a vast, hostile seascape of fog, ice and bitter cold
September 06, 2026
One of the most significant achievements of the First French Antarctic Expedition was the systematic survey of the western Antarctic Peninsula, including parts of Graham Land and the Palmer Archipelago.
September 06, 2026
More than 120 years after the Scottish National Antarctic Expedition sailed south aboard Scotia, new digital resources are helping bring one of the Heroic Age’s most significant scientific voyages to life.
September 01, 2026
For most people, Antarctica remains a place of imagination rather than experience. Its remote location and harsh conditions mean that only a small number of visitors ever have the opportunity to stand inside the continent’s historic expedition huts. A new virtual reality reconstruction of Scott’s Discovery Hut is helping to change that, bringing one of Antarctica’s most significant heritage sites to audiences around the world.
September 01, 2026
The wreck of Endurance, Sir Ernest Shackleton’s famous expedition vessel, may soon receive a level of protection never before granted to an underwater heritage site in Antarctica.
November 13, 2019
The first women arrived at the South Pole 50 years ago this month
April 30, 2018
The four track Tucker Sno-Cat is one of the ultimate snow vehicles.
October 27, 2017
We speak with Rebecca Priestley about her anthology, compiling 250 years of writing by scientists in Antarctica and the Southern Ocean
September 10, 2017
In this podcast, we talk to Sara Wheeler about her bestseller 'Terra Incognita, Travels in Antarctica', which The New York Times called “gripping, emotional” and “compelling.”
August 01, 2017
In this podcast, we speak to Michael Smith about Tom Crean and his heroic exploits in Antarctica during three of the great polar expeditions, under the leadership of Scott and Shackleton.
November 05, 2015
Sir Douglas Mawson is widely regarded as Australia’s greatest Antarctic explorer for mapping untrodden areas and surviving some of the most harrowing situations.