Close encounter of the cetacean kind

Local writer Kate Keeley spent two months in Antarctica on a National Science Foundation grant for writers and artists. She worked side-by-side with scientists and researchers, studying penguins and seals, and spent a few days sifting 65-million-year-old dirt for mammal bones.

A highlight of her trip was a close encounter with a humpback whale, which she wrote about for Out There.

Here are a few more photos that show how close she and others got to the whale, which can weigh 45 tons.





















The researchers found "a lot of ancient sharks' teeth, a mummified seal, and possibly a bone from a prehistoric, 6-foot tall penguin," she said.

Way cool. I'm ready to go. I think Dave is, too.