Category Archives: News

LCO is working to determine and reduce its carbon footprint

The carbon footprint of astronomical research facilities has become a critical issue in recent years. Its measurement, in terms of carbon dioxide equivalent, CO2e, serves to understand the behavior of these organizations and their individuals and, in this way, efficiently manage resources. The carbon footprint of astronomical operations, in general, is dominated by the gases…

Tracing The Origins Of Rare Cosmic Explosions

Short gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are some of the most powerful and luminous cosmic explosions since the Big Bang.  Despite this, only a few of these short flashes of radiation are detected by Earth-orbiting satellites each year. Now, in a pair of new papers, astronomers have published the largest study to date of the environments and…

NSF visits LCO 

On September 28, members of the U.S. federal agency National Science Foundation (NSF) visited Las Campanas Observatory of the Carnegie Institution for Science and the site where the Giant Magellan Telescope (GMTO) is being built. The visit was led by David Osip, Deputy Director of LCO; Oscar Contreras, GMTO’s legal representative in Chile and Vice…