Initiative is led by the Universidad Católica del Norte (UCN)
With the beginning of paving work on 3.5 kilometers of the access road and the construction of two platforms that will house a camp and a telescope complex, respectively, the construction of the Ventarrones Astronomical Park, located on the hill of the same name 90 kilometers southeast of Antofagasta.
This initiative is led by the Universidad Católica del Norte (UCN), and has the collaboration of different strategic partners, one of the most important being the National Astronomical Observatory of China (NAOC).
The complex will be a space to promote research, education and astrotourism in the Antofagasta region and nationally, which will allow the development of various projects and contribute to the advancement of astronomy, among other disciplines.
This research center is located at 2,200 meters above sea level in the so-called astronomical triangle in which the Paranal and Armazones observatories are located, an area with a privileged sky of world quality to develop cutting-edge astronomy.
The Ministry of Public Works (MOP) and the Regional Government (Gore) supported this center in its initial stage with the construction of the paved road to the access to the astronomical center.
INITIAL PROJECTIONS
The director of the Institute of Astronomy Dr. Maximiliano Moyano emphasizes that “The idea of this research center is to benefit the region and the country through the development of key disciplines in the development of the Northern Macrozone such as astronomy, among others.”.
The Chinese astronomer and representative of the TOM (Transient Objects Monitoring) project in Cerro Ventarrones, Chile, Dr. Zhenyu Wu, highlighted the relevance of joint work and collaboration in the binational initiative.
He valued the collaborative work between the UCN and NAOC for astronomical studies, in an alliance that involves Chile and China. He added that construction of the base works is estimated to take one year, while the telescopes would be installed the following year.
For his part, the person in charge of the project, the academic from the Institute of Astronomy (IA) of that house of higher education, Dr. Christian Moni Bidin, highlighted that the project will contribute to the training of the students of the Bachelor’s degree in Physics with a mention in Astronomy from the UCN, those who will have the possibility of learning, training and knowing.
IMPACT
In addition to being a center for astronomical research, the park will also promote the development of applied technologies in areas such as water resources, renewable energy, education and astrotourism, among other sectors relevant to the region.
Regarding this, the director of Innovation and Technology Transfer of the UCN, Bárbara Torres Vallejos, emphasized that the materialization of the project constitutes a new milestone. “We hope that once installed within international cooperation, it will allow us to do more and better research regarding our skies. We believe that being able to have a laboratory at our disposal, both for students and academics, will undoubtedly be one of the ways to, through the astronomical pole, position ourselves as a university.”he emphasized.
