With the aim of disseminating astronomy in areas where this science is not commonly talked about, and thanks to the “Astroexpeditions” initiative of the National Astronomy Outreach Committee (NOC Chile) to the International Astronomical Union (IAU), a group of astronomers visited various places in the Lakes Region, to carry out outreach activities for various audiences.…
Observations using the Dark Energy Camera (DECam) confirm astronomers’ expectation that early-Universe quasars formed in regions of space densely populated with companion galaxies. DECam’s exceptionally wide field of view and special filters played a crucial role in reaching this conclusion, and the observations reveal why previous studies seeking to characterize the density of early-Universe quasar…
The supernova is a spectacular event in the universe, representing the final stage in the life of a massive star. Having exhausted its nuclear fuel, the star can no longer hold up against its gravity, resulting in a catastrophic collapse and an explosion that releases an enormous amount of energy, outshining its host galaxy for…
On May 25 and 26, 2024, Heritage Day was celebrated in Chile, which seeks to promote interaction with the diverse cultural expressions and historical resources that exist in the country. Las Campanas Observatory, LCO, was part of this great cultural activity, carrying out two activities in the Metropolitan Region. The first was a discussion about…
MIT researchers, including several undergraduates, have discovered three of the oldest stars in the Universe, those living in our own galactic neighborhood. This research was conducted using data obtained with the Clay telescope, one of the Magellan twins at the Carnegie Institution for Science’s Las Campanas Observatory. The team discovered the stars in the Milky…
Together with Carnegie Science and the Perot Museum, Las Campanas Observatory gave talks and held massive workshops to educate the community about the total solar eclipse visible on April 8, 2024, in addition to teaching about the associated science and the precautions associated with its observation. A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon, following its…
Last March 23, 2024, close to a thousand people visited the offices of Las Campanas Observatory (LCO) in La Serena to celebrate Astronomy Day in Chile. This event was organized by LCO, with the collaboration of the Universidad Central, the Giant Magellan Telescope (GMTO), the Fundación Cielos de Chile, the Navegantes Estelares project and NothOptics.…
Chile is known worldwide for the quality of its dark skies, which, being located over the Atacama Desert, the most arid non-polar place on the planet, remain clear and stable. For this reason, it is currently an astronomical power due to the fact that nearly 40% of the infrastructure created to study the Universe is…
Carnegie Science’s Mount Wilson Observatory is renowned for groundbreaking discoveries that reshaped our understanding of the cosmos. Yet, amidst the towering telescopes and the celebrated names of male astronomers like George Ellery Hale and Edwin Hubble, there exists a lesser known, but equally important narrative—that of the women of Mount Wilson’s Computing Division, who worked…
The Solar System has some new lunar members—the first new moon of Uranus discovered in more than 20 years, and likely the smallest, as well as two new moons of Neptune, one of which is the faintest moon ever discovered by ground-based telescopes. The discoveries were announced today by the International Astronomical Union’s Minor Planet…
