An Antarctic oasis of calm, but it’ s also very lonely

I’VE enjoyed the queries about the Apollo astronauts over the last couple of weeks, and would like you to answer something that has been bothering me.

Shortly after lift-off of the Saturn V rockets – and space shuttles – the astronauts would announce something about a “roll program”. What is that, please? – D. The roll program is carried out shortly after the vehicle clears the launch tower to alter the altitude of a vertically-launched vehicle.

The manoeuvre is used to place the spacecraft on a proper heading toward its intended orbit.

A crew member reports the roll to Mission Control, which is then acknowledged by the capsule communicator.

AFTER enduring another chaotic Sunday with my three teenage daughters – you know what I mean, the squabbling over the hairdryer, bickering about boyfriends, arguing over the best pop star – I tried to imagine a more serene, happy place.

Can you tell where on earth that could be? – G.

Well, I suppose the calmest place, in geographic terms, would have to be the place with the least wind.

In 2009, scientists searching for the perfect spot for an observatory combined data from satellites, ground stations and climate models in a study to assess the many factors that affect astronomy – cloud cover, temperature, sky-brightness, water vapour, wind speeds and atmospheric turbulence.

The researchers pinpointed a site, known simply as Ridge A, that is 13,297ft (4,053m) high up on the Antarctic plateau on the continent at the bottom of the world.

“It’s so calm that there’s almost no wind or weather there at all,” said Will Saunders, of the AngloAustralian Observatory.

However, it may be calm, but Ridge A has an average winter temperature of –94F (– 70C).

Not only that, but no human has ever set foot there, so you may find calmness there, but you would be cold and lonely.