From the most distant galaxies to the formation of the first black holes, Chilean astronomer Leopoldo Infante has dedicated his career to deciphering the mysteries of the cosmos. Currently director of the Las Campanas Observatory (LCO), his research has marked milestones in world astronomy, always with one foot in Chile and an eye on the…
As part of the celebrations for Astronomy Day in Chile, celebrated in the country on the Friday closest to the autumn equinox in the southern hemisphere, the Las Campanas Observatory, LCO, carried out a series of activities designed to inspire future generations and promote inclusive access to science. The celebrations began with a visit to…
At the Las Campanas Observatory of the Carnegie Science Institution, we share the national and international astronomical community’s concern about the development of the INNA Project. The project contemplates the construction of a center for the production of liquid green hydrogen and green ammonia in Taltal, in the Antofagasta Region, a few kilometers from the…
Recognition highlights his scientific career, his contribution to world astronomy and his link with Chile. The distinguished North American astronomer Mark Phillips, director emeritus of the Las Campanas Observatory, was named Honorary Foreign Member of the Chilean Academy of Sciences in a ceremony held on Wednesday, March 26. The distinction recognizes his exceptional scientific career,…
Fernanda Gonzalez and Clara Aracena, both high school students from the Andes School in Talca, had the opportunity to visit the Las Campanas Observatory, one of the most important astronomical centers in the world, as a prize for having won first place in the 1st School Science Workshop for Women, an initiative promoted by the…
Using the Gemini South telescope, part of the International Gemini Observatory funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation and operated by NSF NOIRLab, and the Magellan Baade Telescope at Las Campanas Observatory, astronomers have achieved a groundbreaking milestone: the first near-infrared observation of a recurrent nova outside the Milky Way. This discovery revealed extraordinary chemical…
In the framework of International Women’s Day, celebrated every March 8, it is essential to highlight the stories of women who have broken barriers and left an indelible mark in their fields. One of them is Nidia Morrell, an Argentine astronomer who has dedicated her life to unraveling the mysteries of the universe from the…
The Working Group on Small Body Nomenclature (WGSBN), the official body of the International Astronomical Union (IAU), has announced that the dwarf planet 2014 QM279 will bear the name (711824) Infante as of February 2025. This naming pays tribute to Leopoldo Infante, a renowned Chilean astronomer and current Director of the Las Campanas Observatory of…
Carnegie Science President John Mulchaey and Las Campanas Observatory Director Emeritus Mark Phillips were selected for the 2025 class of Fellows of the American Astronomical Society (AAS) in recognition of “personal achievement and extraordinary service” to the field. Established in 2020, the accolade honors members of the organization for original research, innovative technique and instrumentation…
The Large Lenslet Array Magellan Spectrograph (LLAMAS) is an Integral Field Spectrograph, an imaging tool by which astronomers extract properties of light, which, after 11 nights of work, was successfully installed on the 6.5-meter Baade telescope at the Carnegie Institution for Science’s Las Campanas Observatory, LCO. LLAMAS was developed by the MIT Kavli Institute for…
