Astronomy in Chile

Incoming President of Chile Michelle Bachelet meets senior ESO Director General Tim de Zeeuw.[1]

Chile can be considered the astronomy capital of the world. At present (2011),[2] Chile is home to 42% of the world's astronomy infrastructure of telescopes, and by 2018 it will contain 70% of the global infrastructure. In the Atacama desert region in north, the skies are exceptionally clear and dry for more than 300 days a year. These optimal conditions have led the world's scientific community to develop in the Atacama desert the most ambitious astronomical projects in the history of mankind.[3][4]

Chile welcomes a diverse and active astronomical community that includes Chilean and international professionals and others, such as astronomers, engineers, students, teachers and amateurs.

The first documented testimony of an astronomical measurement done in Chile is the observation of a lunar eclipse by the soldier Pedro Cuadrado Chavino (June 1582).[5] He used a classic Greek method to obtain the latitude of the city of Valdivia based on the eclipse's measurements. In 1849, during the government of Manuel Bulnes, a scientific mission of the U.S. navy run by James M. Gilliss arrived to Chile for observing Venus and Mars to calculate the Earth-Sun distance. The Gilliss mission established the first astronomical observatory in the Cerro Santa Lucia (Santiago). In 1852, the facilities were transferred to Chile and the National Astronomical Observatory was created.[6] During the second half of the 20th century, the U.S. and European observatories were installed in different locations of the north of the country:[7] La Silla, Cerro Tololo, Las Campanas and later Cerro Paranal, Cerro Pachon and Chajnantor.

Chilean Astronomical Institutions

Professional astronomy

CATA is the largest Chilean project of R&D in astronomy’s technologies. It’s located in Calán Hill (Cerro Calán), in Santiago, Chile. This center brings together the largest amount of astronomers in Chile from three universities: Universidad de Chile, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile and Universidad de Concepción. CATA develop nine different areas: 6 focused in scientific research, 3 focused on technology advances, and 1 of Education & Outreach (to students, teachers and general public).

This Center its mainly dedicated to supernovae research, it gathers astronomers from: Universidad de Chile, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile and Universidad Andrés Bello.

Northern Chile

Central Chile

Southern Chile

Amateur astronomy

International astronomical institutions in Chile

Observatories

Existing facilities

Picture of La Silla Observatory taken from Las Campanas Observatory

Future facilities

Further information on Extremely large telescope.

Light pollution

Education

Undergraduate programs

Graduate programs

School programs

People

Professional astronomers

In Chile

In Chile there are more than 100 astronomers,[8] some are:

Engineers

Amateur astronomers and teachers

Planetariums

Publications and books

Astronomy in the media and news sites

References

  1. ↑ "Incoming President of Chile Michelle Bachelet Meets Senior ESO Representatives". ESO Announcements. Retrieved 12 April 2014.
  2. ↑ "Why Chile is an astronomer's paradise", By Gideon Long BBC News
  3. ↑ "A panorama of the Chilean Astronomy", G. Garay, The ESO Messenger, March 2002, N. 107
  4. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-03-15. Retrieved 2012-01-27."Chile has become a world-renowned hub in the field of astronomy". Interview to Mario Hamuy. Source: www.thisischile.cl
  5. ↑ "Historia General de Chile", Tomo 3, Diego Barros Arana (1884)
  6. ↑ "Cuatro siglos de Astronomia en Chile", H. Quintana, A. Salinas, (2004), Revista Universitaria, N. 83. Publicaciones P. Universidad Catolica de Chile
  7. ↑ ESO's early history, 1953-1975. VI - Further developments in Chile; 25 March 1969; The first phase dedicated; The introduction of national telescopes
  8. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-02-16. Retrieved 2012-01-27.
  9. ↑ "Nacionales de El Diario de Hoy:". archivo.elsalvador.com. Retrieved 2016-11-19.
  10. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2008-06-07. Retrieved 2008-07-12. "Maestra chilena es la primera latinoamericana que se prepara para ir al espacio", Icarito.
  11. ↑ Premios EduCiencias: Una vida dedicada a la ciencia y la educación, web site of Explora-CONYCIT.
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