This week seemed to go by like nothing. Perhaps it was the fact that we had our observations for the group project on RR Lyrae Stars. I was going to Cerro Tololo on February 1st and returning on the 3rd. Before I left we had another astronomy class to discuss some of the details about going to the observatory and a talk given on ALMA.
We heard Dr. E. Hardy, who happens to be 100% of the Chilean NRAO workforce. He discussed the types of science and technology being done and exploited in the making of ALMA, or the Atacama Large Millimeter Array. More discussion of Chile's superior climate for Astronomy, this seems to come up a lot at colloquium, tea, etc., it's the truth though. The fact that there are at least three major Astronomical meetings in Chile this year alone indicates it is becoming a country synonomous with Astronomy. The deal the Chilean Astronomers (10% of the total observing time) get with every new telescope is also making Chile into an astronomical powerhouse.
I left on Thursday at roughly 11-ish to Cerro Tololo. It was a beautiful drive. I had intended to take advantage of the time away from both my computer and other distractions to read some articles I bookmarked in my brain, however, I found the fields of Papayas, small vineyards, and mountainous terrain too much to ignore. So I ooh-ed and ah-ed. It was spectacular. The new dam and widened tunnel between La Serena and Cerro Tololo are interesting sights, I have never traveled in a tunnel through a mountain before, it was interesting. The inside of it was not like I would have imagined. You could see the mountain, I thought it would be concrete and infrastructure... hmm. Anyhow, the new dam is very pretty, the water goes up to the mountains and the remnants of old house foundations could be seen in some parts protruding through the water. It seemed like a scene from Clash of the Titans, I don't know why, it just did...
The telescopes on Cerro Tololo are very cool. The domes are domes, and the structures under the domes are similar in each telescope. It's kind of eerie in that deserted scientific lab kind of way. The buildings have these things... its hard to explain... anyway, the Schmidt telescope was the telescope we were using. It is probably the oldest one there and it is moved completely by hand! It was fun though. The difficult part is trying to figure out different hand configurations, you have to hold a hand paddle that releases the brake, a star chart with coordinates, and a flashlight to see where you are pointed. And you have to do this while holding a ring attached to a large, heavy, however well balanced, telescope. It's a chore, perhaps it is better to move with two people, but it's more fun my way. Staying up late was not a problem at all. My only wish was that the nights were longer. I would have liked to have spent more time gazing into the Center of the Milky Way or identifying objects with the smaller telescope. But I did get an image of Eta Carinae!