O desert of atacama it is known as the driest in the world. There are records that attest that the region spent more than five years without receiving a single drop of rain. It is located in the Andes Mountains, an extensive mountain range located in South America.
One of the underexplored features of the Atacama Desert is its contribution to the astronomical research, who find in this narrow strip of land the ideal conditions for research of this nature.
Features that favor astronomical research
The low relative humidity of the air, the practically absence of clouds, the elevation of the relief, the reduced urbanization and artificial lighting and the location close to the equator make this environment very favorable for the installation of gigantic telescopes and for the development of research astronomical
The low relative humidity and the absence of clouds are due to the low rainfall in the region. The air masses that rise loaded from Antarctica towards the Equator do not reach the interior of Chilean territory due to the movement of the current of Humbolt. The absence of water in the atmosphere in the region makes the captured images even cleaner and without distortion, since the humidity retains light and interferes with the quality of the images.
The location near the equator line, between Chile and Peru, allows a greater view of the entire universe, since, in this position, the sensors of the telescopic devices can be moved to the maximum degree both to the north and the south. In the same way, the high altitude reduces the air column and the pressure on the equipment and reduces the elements that can compromise visibility.
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Urbanization and the resulting artificial lighting in cities are also factors that compromise the quality of the images obtained. Thus, the smaller the influence of these factors, the better the captured images will be.
The largest observation project in the world
The largest observation project in the world is called SOUL (Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array – Large Millimeter and Submillimeter Array) and is operated by the European Southern Observatory (ESO) in conjunction with its international partners. This megaproject was built on the Chajnantor Plateau, in the Atacama Desert. It is the result of a joint effort between Europe, East Asia and North America, in cooperation with the Republic of Chile. The estimated cost of this project is 1.5 billion dollars.
ALMA is a unique instrument for observing the deepest space. It has the ability to record images in very low light emission zones, in millimeter and submillimeter intensities. It is made up of 66 high-precision antennas, 50 of which are 12 meters in diameter each, which work together with a single telescope - the interferometer. In addition to this network, there is the Compacta Network, consisting of four twelve-meter antennas and twelve seven-meter antennas.The accuracy of this immense telescope is ten times greater than that of the Hubble Space Telescope.
Equipment like these installed under very specific conditions allow scientists to seek answers about the origin of the universe and its expansion or the appearance and death of stars.
*Image credits: Shutterstock / Chr. Offenberg
by Hugo Mota
Graduated in Geography
Would you like to reference this text in a school or academic work? Look:
MOTA, Hugo. "Atacama Desert and the observation of the stars"; Brazil School. Available in: https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/geografia/deserto-atacama-observacao-dos-astros.htm. Accessed on June 28, 2021.
