Las Campanas Observatory, LCO, participated in the XXIII version of the International Congress of Astronomy Amateurs CIAAXXII organized in 2023 by the Science Park Foundation in Santo Domingo, Chile, and held between November 8 and 11. LCO was part of the event conducting workshops in the LabMóvil "Conciencia Astronomía"- operated jointly by LCO, GMTO and Fundación Ecoscience- and a keynote lecture given by the Director, Dr. Leopoldo Infante.
The congress brought together astronomers and astronomy enthusiasts from different regions of Chile and different countries and included keynote talks, lectures, art and astrophotography exhibitions, special activities, music, hands-on workshops and a Star Party. These activities took place at the Foundation's facilities as well as in other areas of the community.
On November 8 and 9, the schools El Roble, Pucaiquen, San Agustín and Hellen Lee Lassen conducted light and optics experiments in the LabMovil with LCO, while on November 10 the laboratory visited the El Convento area to conduct experiments with the schools El Convento, Claudio Vicuña, Bucalemito, Juanita Fernández Solar and Padre Alberto Hurtado. Solar observations were also conducted with the students.
The event ended with a keynote talk by Dr. Infante, entitled "Professional observatories in Chile and a selection of great astrophysical discoveries in the 20th and 21st centuries". In it, the Director of LCO explained the development of astronomy in the country and the main discoveries made with the Carnegie Observatories, very relevant for world astronomy.
In 2024, the new version of the congress will be held at the Mirador Interactive Museum, MIM, located in the Metropolitan Region.