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…
Between November 27 and 29, 2024, the first Astronomy Outreach Congress was held in Chile, which brought together professionals dedicated to making scientific knowledge known to different audiences through various formats. The meeting, organized by the National Outreach Coordinator (NOC), was attended by the Las Campanas Observatory (LCO) along with other institutions present in the…
By Daniela González Executive Director of Fundación Cielos de Chile On November 30, an unprecedented event illuminated the importance of protecting dark skies. The Algarrobo Route turned off its lights for an hour, allowing to measure the impact of light and raise awareness about the preservation of this valuable scientific heritage of the regions of…
The School Astronomy Congress is an activity that was born in 2013 and is currently led by the TITANs Millennium Nucleus, which belongs to ANID. Each year a group of students and their guiding teacher are awarded for developing an original scientific research and presenting it in front of a committee. As part of the…
In Chile, science and technology are celebrated during October, with various activities throughout the country with the purpose of creating opportunities for community participation and developing events that highlight the importance of science and technology in today’s society. LCO was once again part of these activities, beginning the celebrations with the ULS Science Week, an…
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…
