Astronomy

32 ASTRONOMY • APRIL 2018

required to build and operate a telescope

array in such an extreme environment.

Astronomical community

ACEAP ambassadors don’t spend all their

time inside domes or atop high-altitude

plateaus. We also attended science and engi-

neering presentations on how the observa-

tories work and the process astronomers

follow to observe. Education and public

outreach officers spoke about STEM educa-

tion and outreach throughout Chile. We

learned how to use ALMA and Gemini data

in classrooms, planetariums, and lecture

halls back home. Panels featuring CTIO

and ALMA administrators, engineers, tele-

scope operators, and more drove home the

point that astronomers are only one part of

a much larger community standing behind

these successful observatories.

That community includes U.S. and

Chilean citizens. Each observatory dedi-

cates significant resources to promoting

science and astronomy. “In more than

40 years of doing outreach at the Cerro

Tololo Inter-American Observatory, we

have reached more than 100,000 people

just here in the visitors center,” says Juan

Seguel, coordinator of Education and

Public Outreach (EPO) at CTIO.

Ambassador Rich Lohman explored the

reasons why the ACEAP group comes to

Chile each year. “During our ACEAP trip,

I asked a couple of our speakers... the

value of putting our money into astron-

omy,” he says. “I heard basically this:

Humankind has always been searching the

big questions. Where did we come from?

Where are we going? Where are we in a

larger perspective? We’re always looking

for greater understanding of the biggest

possible picture. So we as a society of

humans should financially support what

we’re deeply called to do and try to answer

those very profound questions.”

ACEAP ambassadors also experience

the culture and natural beauty of Chile.

In Santiago, several of us visited the La

Chascona house built by Nobel prize-

winning poet Pablo Neruda. We took

in panoramic views of the city and the

snow-covered Andes from the top of

San Cristóbal Hill. In the Atacama Desert,

we visited the Reserva Nacional de

Flamencos, a sprawling salt f lat ringed by

distant volcanoes. We drove through the

stunning Valle de la Luna (Valley of the

Moon), named for its striking similarities

to the surface of Earth’s satellite. Much of

the ground consisted of deep-red sand

dunes or sat beneath a blanket of white

— salt, not snow. Ambassadors shopped at

San Pedro’s craft markets before our f light

back to Santiago and our last day together.

A continuing journey

The ability to share data and knowledge

instantaneously across continents makes

it easier than ever for the public to access

cutting-edge science. A love of science

often starts early, putting educators in the

unique and vital position to nurture and

support it.

The trip to Chile is only part of ACEAP.

Ambassadors must also complete seven

outreach projects associated with their

experience that highlights astronomy in

Chile. That final day in Santiago, we talked

8

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PHOTOS FROM CHILE

8. A stunning sunset viewed from CTIO paints
   the mountaintops red and pink. E. TING (ACEAP/NSF)


9. Two ambassadors line up the perfect shot
   inside the dome of the 8.1m Gemini South
   Telescope — a space so large that a fisheye
   lens works best for capturing the entire
   telescope. The cameras and instruments seen
   at the bottom of the pier are roughly the size
   of refrigerators. E. TING (ACEAP/NSF)


10. Flamingos search for an afternoon meal
    at the Atacama Salt Flats in the Reserva
    Nacional de Flamencos. A. OSTERMAN MEYER (ACEAP/NSF)


11. The dark Coalsack and bright Carina Nebula
    stand out against the Milky Way’s diffuse
    background. The photographer captured this
    scene from a farmer’s field near San Pedro de
    Atacama. E. TING (ACEAP/NSF)


12. Just before descending from Chajnantor,
    our group stopped for a photo, complete with
    personal oxygen supplies. E. TING (ACEAP/NSF)


13. Our tour of the ALMA Operations Support
    Facility included one of the on-site labs. On the
    left are several of ALMA’s front-end receivers,
    which are installed in the radio antennas to
    amplify and digitize incoming radio waves.
    On the right is a component of Band 5, which
    covers 163–211 gigahertz. Each front-end
    receiver is designed to hold a total of 10 bands.
    ALISON KLESMAN (ACEAP/NSF)


14. ACEAP ambassadors get their first glimpse
    of the Southern Hemisphere sky from the
    Observatorio Astronómico Andino near
    Santiago. D. DEMETER (ACEAP/NSF)