Shackleton and Scott Hut Cams from Google

From a July 17 Mail Online story: "In the winter of 1913, a British newspaper ran an advertisement to promote the latest imperial expedition to Antarctica, apparently placed by polar explorer Ernest Shackleton."

"It read, 'Men wanted for hazardous journey. Low wages, bitter cold, long hours of complete darkness. Safe return doubtful. Honour and recognition in event of success.'"

More excerpts from the Mail article below.

Above, Shackleton's Hut.

Below, Scott's Hut.

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It's perhaps the only opportunity most of us will have to "visit" two monuments to the great age of exploration — in considerably more comfort than their first inhabitants.

Google's Street View has created 360-degree 3-D explorable panoramas of the huts used by two of the greatest Antarctic explorers, Ernest Shackleton and Robert Falcon Scott.

The huts have been preserved by the intense cold and offer an insight into the grim conditions faced by Shackleton and Scott a century ago.

The panoramas were created by a lightweight tripod camera with a fisheye lens.

"Today we're bringing you additional panoramic imagery of historic Antarctic locations that you can view from the comfort of your home. We'll be posting this special collection to our World Wonders site, where you can learn more about the history of South Pole exploration," said Laurian Clemence of Google.

"With the help of the Polar Geospatial Center at the University of Minnesota and the New Zealand Antarctic Heritage Trust, we've now expanded our 360-degree imagery of the continent and are making views of many other important spots — such as the South Pole Telescope, Shackleton's hut, Scott's hut, and the Cape Royds Adélie Penguin Rookery — available to people around the world."

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More from Google on the project here.

[via Leah (Kay)]