Blogs from Cerro Paranal, Atacama, Chile, South America

It was cold at night. The typical desert weather – almost zero humidity, the days are hot, nights are cold; especially in the winter times. I made a mental note of turning on the propane tank heater at night when I would be back after the day trip. Yes, it would be a busy day; I knew that. During my planning stage, Daniela, the Manager from Ckoi Lodge made it a point we visit Piedras Rojas salt plain. It is located high above the sea level, over 4500m. Daniela chalked out the plan - on our way, we should visit the Laguna Miscanti and Minisque in the altiplano (high plain region of Andean region) of Atacama Desert. On our way back, we must stop in Laguna Chaxy. So, it was an all day busy, busy schedule ... read more

Enjoy the open road? Jack Kerouac might have said it best in his famous novel On the Road: “I was halfway across America, at the dividing line between the East of my youth and the West of my future.” His words serve as a testament to the power of a road trip; how the process of packing a car and driving long distances has the ability to transform us. Yet, what about the roads themselves? What makes this form of transportation more life-changing than, say, flying in an airplane? Or taking a url=https://www.tripadvisor.com/Search?geo&redirect&q=cruise&uiOrigin=MASTHEAD&ssrc=A&returnTo=__2F__&pid=3825&startTime=1487962374801&searchSessionId=37417A2CEAA317B65E3C4B1E454192721487962367241ssidcruise? The answer could be in the old chestnut: It’s not the destination but the journey that matters I always think of the old Willie Nelson song, "On the Road, Again" when... read more

I am ashamed of my deliquency but as my students say "the dog ate my homework" No internet for a few weeks then trying to catch up on unread emails took sooooooooo looong Any way I am here now and there are photos to dress up the events of the past few weeks as soon as I get them off the CD and into my Adobe Photoshop. The trip to Antfagasta was fraught (love that word) with troubles. Planes that have no pilot and crew and therefore the flight is cancelled. That is a good way to get a very fancy hotel for the night in Miami, but it screws up all the future connections. So the3 next night you get a freebee in Santiago but only for three hours. That is enuff time to eat, ... read more

The Atacama Desert is the driest place on earth. For that reason it has been chosen as a site for various space telescopes. Astronomers and Astrophysicists value the dry atmosphere and the little amount of diffused light due to the remotenes because it gives them a much clearer view into the sky. It makes visits to the telescopes quite difficult though. I had arranged a visit to the telescope of the European Southern Observatories (ESO), the Very Large Telescope (VLT). This prestigious facility was built during the nineties on top of Cerro Paranal as a cooperative project between different European countries. It still remains to be the most powerful telescope today. I had once taken part in a summer school where we got to know the telescope's basic features and discused research projects done based on ... read more