To describe the march to the Pole in a few words- it was brutal. Five men in the fiercest part of the world, with no electronic communications relying upon DR and Sun sights to reach The South Pole!
Not to spoil the book for you; since they were in meta incognita, they had certain procedures to insure their survival and safe return to Framheim (their base in The Bay of Whales).
The book is very enjoyable reading and there are no discouraging words.
History presents too much of the Scott expedition. It has been said that though Amundsen was the victor, Scott was the martyr. Martyrs are remembered- victors are often forgotten.
I uploaded the 1911 Nautical Almanac which also contains the letter and English translation Amundsen had left at The South Pole, which Scott found, addressed to King Haakon VII of Norway. Scott and his team perished on their return trip but the letter was found with him when he and his comrades were found a nine months later.
The 1911 Nautical Almanac on our site is dedicated to the greatest explorer of the 20th century- Roald Amundsen.
03-03-2016, 03:07 AM (This post was last modified: 03-03-2016, 03:19 AM by CelNav57.)
Perhaps of special immediate interest are the interpretation of the Sun observations taken at the Pole by Amundsen and his men.
Appendix IV is taken directly from Roald Amundsen's The South Pole, Volumes 1 and 2.
APPENDIX IV: The Astronomical Observations at the Pole
Note by Professor H. Geelmuyden
Christiania, September 16, 1912.
When requested this summer to receive the astronomical observations from Roald Amundsen's South Pole Expedition, for the purpose of working them out, I at once put myself in communication with Mr. A. Alexander (a mathematical master) to get him to undertake this work, while indicating the manner in which the materials could be best dealt with. As Mr. Alexander had in a very efficient manner participated in the working out of the observations from Nansen's Fram Expedition, and since then had calculated the astronomical observations from Amundsen's Gjöa Expedition, and from Captain Isachsen's expeditions to Spitzbergen, I knew by experience that he was not only a reliable and painstaking calculator, but that he also has so full an insight into the theoretical basis, that he is capable of working without being bound down by instructions.
(Signed) H. Geelmuyden, Professor of Astronomy, The Observatory of the University, Christiania.
Mr. Alexander's Report.
Captain Roald Amundsen, At your request I shall here give briefly the result of my examination of the observations from your South Pole Expedition. My calculations are based on the longitude for Framheim given to me by Lieutenant Prestrud, 163º 37' W. of Greenwich. He describes this longitude as provisional, but only to such an extent that the final result cannot differ appreciably from it. My own results may also be somewhat modified on a final treatment of the material. But these modifications, again, will only be immaterial, and, in any case, will not affect the result of the investigations given below as to the position of the two Polar stations.
At the first Polar station, on December 15, 1911, eighteen altitudes of the sun were taken in all with each of the expedition's sextants. The latitude calculated from these altitudes is, on an average of both sextants, very near 89º 54', with a mean error of +-2'. The longitude calculated from the altitudes is about 7t (105º) E.; but, as might be expected in this high latitude, the aberrations are very considerable. We may, however, assume with great certainty that this station lies between lat. 89º 52' and 89º 56' S., and between long. 90º and 120º E.
The variation of the compass at the first Polar station was determined by a series of bearings of the sun. This gives us the absolute direction of the last day's line of route. The length of this line was measured as five and a half geographical miles. With the help of this we are able to construct for Polheim a field of the same form and extent as that within which the first Polar station must lie.
At Polheim, during a period of twenty-four hours (December 16 -- 17), observations were taken every hour with one of the sextants. The observations show an upper culmination altitude of 28º 19.2', and a resulting lower culmination altitude of 23º 174'. These combining the above two altitudes, an equal error on the same side in each will have no influence on the result. The combination gives a latitude of 89º 58.6'. That this result must be nearly correct is confirmed by the considerable displacement of the periods of culmination which is indicated by the series of observations, and which in the immediate neighbourhood of the Pole is caused by the change in the sun's declination. On the day of the observations this displacement amounted to thirty minutes in 89º 57', forty-six minutes in 89º 58', and over an hour and a half in 89º 59'. The upper culmination occurred so much too late, and the lower culmination so much too early. The interval between these two periods was thus diminished by double the amount of the displacements given. Now the series of observations shows that the interval between the upper and the lower culmination amounted at the most to eleven hours; the displacement of the periods of culmination was thus at least half an hour. It results that Polheim must lie south of 89º 57', while at the same time we may assume that it cannot lie south of 89º 59'. The moments of culmination could, of course, only be determined very approximately, and in the same way the observations as a whole are unserviceable for the determination of longitude. It may, however, be stated with some certainty that the longitude must be between 30º and 75º E. The latitude, as already mentioned, is between 89º 57' and 89º 59', and the probable position of Polheim may be given roughly as lat. 89º 58.5' S., and long. 60º E.
On the accompanying sketch-chart the letters abcd indicate the field within which the first Polar station must lie; ABCD is the field which is thereby assigned to Polheim; EFGH the field within which Polheim must lie according to the observations taken on the spot itself; P the probable position of Polheim, and L the resulting position of the first Polar station. The position thus assigned to the latter agrees as well as could be expected with the average result of the observations of December 15. According to this, Polheim would be assumed to lie one and a half geographical miles, or barely three kilometres, from the South Pole, and certainly not so much as six kilometres from it.
From your verbal statement I learn that Helmer Hanssen and Bjaaland walked four geographical miles from Polheim in the direction taken to be south on the basis of the observations. On the chart the letters efgh give the field within which the termination of their line of route must lie. It will be seen from this that they passed the South Pole at a distance which, on the one hand, can hardly have been so great as two and a half kilometres, and on the other, hardly so great as two kilometres; that, if the assumed position of Polheim be correct, they passed the actual Pole at a distance of between 400 and 600 metres; and that it is very probable that they passed the actual Pole at a distance of a few hundred metres, perhaps even less.
I am, etc., (Signed) Anton Alexander. Christiania, September 22, 1912.
