Cerro Pachón (

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: ** Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Ca ...

for "Pachón hill") is a mountain located close to the

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the eas ...

an city of

Vicuña The vicuña (''Lama vicugna'') or vicuna (both , very rarely spelled ''vicugna'', its former genus name) is one of the two wild South American camelids, which live in the high alpine areas of the Andes, the other being the guanaco, which l ...

and 10 km southeast of the

Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory The Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO) is an astronomical observatory located on Cerro Tololo in the Coquimbo Region of northern Chile, with additional facilities located on Cerro Pachón about to the southeast. It is approximate ...

, at an altitude of 2,715 m above sea level in the foothills of the

Andes The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long, wide (widest between 18°S – 20°S ...

. The location is exceedingly dry, making it suitable for

infrared Infrared (IR), sometimes called infrared light, is electromagnetic radiation (EMR) with wavelengths longer than those of visible light. It is therefore invisible to the human eye. IR is generally understood to encompass wavelengths from aroun ...

observations. The air overhead is very stable, yielding excellent visualization/seeing. During the summer months, Cerro Pachón is often above the haze layer that can envelop lower altitudes. There are currently two telescopes commissioned on Cerro Pachón, Gemini South and the Southern Astrophysical Research Telescope. A third, the

Vera C. Rubin Observatory The Vera C. Rubin Observatory, previously referred to as the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST), is an astronomical observatory currently under construction in Chile. Its main task will be carrying out a synoptic astronomical survey, the L ...

, is under construction.

Gallery

File:Cerro Las Tortolas indistance incenter.jpg, Wide view observatories from the air, including Cerro Pachón. In the distance are the Andes File:Telescope Silhouettes at Cerro Pachón.jpg, A night view of the Gemini South, the southern half of the international Gemini Observatory on Cerro Pachón with the

Milky Way The Milky Way is the galaxy that includes our Solar System, with the name describing the galaxy's appearance from Earth: a hazy band of light seen in the night sky formed from stars that cannot be individually distinguished by the naked ey ...

and streak of light left by a

meteor A meteoroid () is a small rocky or metallic body in outer space. Meteoroids are defined as objects significantly smaller than asteroids, ranging in size from grains to objects up to a meter wide. Objects smaller than this are classified as mic ...

in the background.

References

External links

Cerro Pachon

Pachon Pashons ( cop, Ⲡⲁϣⲟⲛⲥ, ), also known as Pachon ( grc-gre, Παχών, ''Pakhṓn'') and Bachans. (, ''Bashans''), is the ninth month of the ancient Egyptian and Coptic calendars. It lasts between May 9 and June 7 of the Gregorian calen ...

Astronomical observatories in Chile

{{Coquimbo-geo-stub

Gallery

See also

References

External links