Last week was big at the Pole, where folks are all about traditions and celebrations. It was the winter solstice, marking the halfway point of the winter darkness, when the sun will begin its southward journey to appear again in September. The Midwinter festivities included the typical special dinner and greeting card exchange among the Antarctic research stations. The recent stretch of bad weather finally broke just in time for the solstice, showing off some nice auroras. That’s reason enough to throw your arms up in the air. In the photo above, you can make out a bright spot in the sky, which is Mars, soon to reach its closest approach to Earth in many years.