For the third consecutive year, the Las Campanas Observatory (LCO) was part of the Heritage Day activities, organized in Cerro Calán (Las Condes, Metropolitan Region) by the Astronomy Department of the Faculty of Physical and Mathematical Sciences of the University of Chile. The event, held on May 25, was attended by about 8,500 people.
On this occasion, Las Campanas Observatory participated together with the Conciencia Astronomía Mobile Laboratory, a collaborative initiative between LCO and the Giant Magellan Telescope Organization (GMTO). Between 10:00 and 16:00 hours, attendees enjoyed an interactive astronomy workshop, where they learned about how telescopes work and experimented with the properties of light.
In addition to the participation of LCO, the event included more than 20 public talks, dozens of stands of brands related to astronomy, astro-tourist observatories and various activities for the general public.
In addition, the observatory participated in the seminar “Astronomical Heritage: Under the Chilean Sky”, a meeting organized jointly by the Altura Patrimonio Foundation, the Institute of Physics and Astronomy of the University of Valparaiso, the Master's program in Cultural Heritage of the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile and the observatory itself.
During the event, the director of LCO, Leopoldo Infante, presented the keynote lecture “Chile as the center of world astronomy”, where he highlighted the international positioning of the country in astronomical research. The seminar also served as a platform to present the progress of the innovative project "Under the Chilean Sky", which addresses the study of the national astronomical heritage from an interdisciplinary perspective.
This celebration reaffirms the commitment of the Las Campanas Observatory to scientific dissemination and bringing astronomy closer to the community, consolidating itself as one of the key institutions in the promotion of astronomical knowledge in Chile.