ALMA in Santiago Metropolitan Park and many other cities in Chile
14 December, 2017 / Read time: 3 minutes
In keeping with the yearly tradition, this Saturday, December 16, the Pablo Neruda Amphitheater in the Santiago Metropolitan Park will host a new version of the Great Night of Stars. On this occasion, ALMA astronomer Sergio Martin will give a talk on ALMA's progress in the search for our cosmic origins, preceded by live music, after which participants can use telescopes to observe the Santiago night sky. The activity kicks off at 7:30 pm and there will be free shuttles up the hill starting at 7:00 pm via Pedro de Valdivia for those registered in advance here (promotional code: ALMAalParquemet).
But this is not the only outreach event for ALMA in Chile over the last few months: From a radio astronomy workshop for teachers at Universidad Católica del Norte in Antofagasta to a talk in a rural school in Valle Simpson, Aysén Region, astronomers, and communicators from the largest radio astronomy observatory in the world have come together and shared with children, youth and adults alike in different activities.
#ExpoALMA in Concepción
Students visit #ExpoALMA at the CICAT in Concepción, Biobio Region, Chile. Credit: J. Valenzuela / Comunicaciones UDEC
ExpoALMA will be on display until late February at the Concepción Interactive Center for Science, Art, and Technology (CICAT), as part of an effort to bring the community closer to the astronomy research conducted from the Atacama Desert. Families and students from the Biobío Region can see the first image captured by this observatory, as well as colorful illustrations and photographs from the ALMA-Kids section, among others. From its inauguration in Santiago in 2015, the exhibit has traveled to numerous cities throughout Chile, including Antofagasta, Osorno, Punta Arenas, and is currently at CICAT in the Universidad de Concepción in Coronel.
Talks, Congress, and Roundtables
Workshop for teachers in Antofagasta, Chile. Credit: Instituto de Astronomía - UCN Chile
Around fifteen teachers from Antofagasta learned about basic radio telescope concepts directly from ALMA astronomer Loreto Barcos and participated in hands-on activities that they can later apply in the classroom. The workshop was held on November 10 at the Universidad Católica del Norte.
In the Aysén Region, as part of the Astrobiology 2017 international congress held in Coyhaique from November 26 to December 1, ALMA and Conicyt's PAR Explora organized a series of talks in schools, a teachers' workshop and a roundtable with the community.
Fifth Grades of the Unión Fraterna de Coyhaique School. Credit: Nicolás Lira - ALMA (NRAO/NAOJ/ESO)
With this, ALMA is closing out a year packed with activities in conjunction with society as a whole. We cordially invite you to follow us through our social networks and participate in upcoming activities in 2018!
Additional Information
ALMA is a partnership of ESO (representing its member states), NSF (USA) and NINS (Japan), together with NRC (Canada), MOST and ASIAA (Taiwan), and KASI (Republic of Korea), in cooperation with the Republic of Chile. The Joint ALMA Observatory is operated by ESO, AUI/NRAO, and NAOJ.
