Cerro Armazones is a mountain located in the Sierra Vicuña Mackenna of the Chilean Coast Range of Andes, approximately 130 km (81 mi) south-east of Antofagasta in the Antofagasta Region, Chile. The mountain is located in a privileged zone for optical astronomy because it has 89% cloudless nights a year. On 26 April 2010, the European Southern Observatory Council selected Cerro Armazones as the site for the planned Extremely Large Telescope (ELT); the construction began in June 2014, and the first light is expected in 2027. Before the construction of the ELT began, the elevation of Cerro Armazones had been 3,064 metres (10,052 ft), but now the top is truncated and the resulting plateau is several meters lower.
Cerro Armazones | |
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Aerial view of the Cerro Armazones | |
Highest point | |
Elevation | 3,046 m (9,993 ft) |
Coordinates | 24°35′21″S 70°11′32″W / 24.58917°S 70.19222°W |
Geography | |
Cerro Armazones Location in Chile | |
Location | Antofagasta Region, Chile |
Parent range | Cordillera Vicuña Mackenna |
On the neighbouring hill, 1 km (1 mi) to the southwest and 230 m (755 ft) below Cerro Armazones, there is the Polish astrophysical observatory, the Cerro Armazones Observatory, managed by the Nicolaus Copernicus Astronomical Center of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Warsaw; observations are conducted by the Araucaria Project.
Gallery
- Supermoon rising up from behind Cerro Armazones.
- Night-time panorama of Cerro Armazones
- Carving a route to Armazones, with Cerro Paranal and the Very Large Telescope in the background.
- Result of the apparent motion of the stars through the southern sky.
- VLT's Auxiliary Telescope (AT) 2 with Cerro Armazones in the background. Credit: ESO/G. Lombardi
- Sunset Cerro Armazones.
- 360 panorama.
- After the groundbreaking back in June 2014, work continues on Cerro Armazones in preparation for construction work on the E-ELT.
- The peak of Cerro Armazones appears flattened as efforts continue to craft a platform for the European Extremely Large Telescope.
References
- Schöck, M.; Els, S.; Riddle, R.; Skidmore, W.; Travouillon, T.; Blum, R.; Bustos, E.; Chanan, G.; Djorgovski, S. G.; Gillett, P.; Gregory, B.; Nelson, J.; Otárola, A.; Seguel, J.; Vasquez, J.; Walker, A.; Walker, D.; Wang, L. (1 April 2009). "Thirty Meter Telescope Site Testing I: Overview". Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific. 121 (878): 384–395. arXiv:0904.1183. Bibcode:2009PASP..121..384S. doi:10.1086/599287.
- "E-ELT Site Chosen". Europe: European Southern Observatory. 26 April 2010. Retrieved 26 April 2010.
- "Astronomers to blow top off mountain to make way for world's biggest". The Independent. 2014-06-19. Retrieved 2019-07-28.
- information@eso.org. "Facts | ELT | ESO". elt.eso.org. Retrieved 2023-09-11.
- Joint Operations Graphic (JPEG) (Map) (1st ed.). 1 : 250,000. 1501. Defence Mapping Agency Topographic Center. 1974. p. Sheet SG 19-2.
- "Supermoon beckons in the new year". www.eso.org. Retrieved 8 January 2018.
- "Ripples Across the Chilean Sky". ESO Picture of the Week. Retrieved 29 May 2013.
External links
- Bird's view on Cerro Paranal and Cerro Armazones
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