Astronomy

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and Chile. Each year, the program selects
nine ambassadors, and the ACEAP team
— and family — grows. Past ambassadors
remain active in the program, creating a
foundation of support and sharing resourc-
es with each other and future ambassadors.
Although the destination is always the
same, ACEAP differs each year because
each group of ambassadors is unique.
“Every group that comes to Chile as part
of this program takes away something dif-
ferent. But, to a person, there is the same
infectious enthusiasm to share their experi-
ences with as many people as possible,”
says Charles Blue, NRAO’s public informa-
tion officer and co-principal investigator
of the program.

I traveled to Chile in 2017 as ACEAP’s

first media liaison. The other ambassadors

were planetarium directors, astrophotogra-

phers, teachers, and research assistants.

One was a Chilean educator leading K-12

astronomy education in her school. Many

members of the diverse group have their

hands in multiple projects: spearheading

efforts to preserve dark skies, providing the

public with pop-up telescope viewing, and

leading local astronomy clubs and events.

First steps

Our nine-day program officially began

June 18, 2017, in Chile’s capital, Santiago.

Each day was packed, typically beginning

at 7 or 8 a.m. and wrapping up in time for

The southern Milky Way

arches over the stone and

metal sculptures of the

Observatorio Cerro Mayu

near La Serena, Chile. M. DIETERICH

(@MATTDIETERICHPHOTOGRAPHY) (ACEAP/NSF)

The 4m Víctor M. Blanco Telescope at CTIO is part

of the Dark Energy Survey; the black cylindrical

Dark Energy Camera sits in place of a secondary

mirror. This telescope was among the first to

observe the optical afterglow of the neutron star

m e r g e r Au g u s t 17, 2017. E. TING (ACEAP/NSF)