Antarctica as pictured by the spacecraft Galileo on its way to Jupiter. The picture was taken in early December, a time of year when the ozone hole over the South Pole is small to nonexistent. During the cold Antarctic winters —April through August—icy stratospheric particles form, which interact with atmospheric chemicals to foster ozone destruction upon the return of sunlight in late August. The ozone hole grows until October, when warmer termperatures begin to melt the icy particles. Because stratospheric ozone protects living things against harmful radiation, NSF-funded researchers at the Ple are working hard to better understand the cause and effects of ozone depletion.

Image by: NASA