ALMA will be present at Antofagasta Puerto de Ideas 2025
Immerse yourself in one of Chile's most relevant science events, full of entertainment and knowledge, with ALMA and its partners, ESO and NRAO/AUI!
A new edition of the Science Festival Puerto de Ideas Antofagasta will take place from Thursday, April 24 to Sunday, April 27, featuring more than 100 activities in different areas. Learn and interact in the various booths of artificial intelligence, biodiversity, oceanography, volcanology, engineering, robotics, mathematics, art, and, of course, astronomy, a discipline especially highlighted in the area, since it has the most pristine skies in the world and prominent observatories.
ALMA and its partners will be present with various exhibitions and talks. Itziar de Gregorio, ESO's representative in Chile, will talk about the extraordinary construction of the ELT, the largest optical telescope in the world, as well as ALMA astronomer Priscilla Nowajewski, who will give a talk on the climate and atmosphere of exoplanets and their potential habitability.
In addition, for the first time during the festival, there will be a guided tour to enjoy the sunset from the Paranal Observatory, the place with the darkest skies in the world. At the Paseo por la Ciencia science fair, visitors can virtually tour the ALMA antennas on the Chajnantor plateau.
One of the festival's highlights since its beginning more than a decade ago has been the Viaje a las Estrellas (Trip to the stars), a star-gazing activity with telescopes from the Atacama Desert. ALMA, AUI/NRAO, and other institutions collaborate to guide visitors during a star party under the darkest skies on Earth.
The activities include the play Kelü, which is about an improbable encounter between two famous astronomers at the La Silla Observatory.
We invite the entire community to participate in these free activities, experience science from one of the most privileged places on the planet, and discover the fascinating science surrounding us.
You can check the ALMA and ESO’s activities in the following table:
| Activity | Description | Organizer(s) | Location | Date and Time |
| Panel: “El futuro de la astronomía" | Astronomers Teresa Paneque, Priscilla Nowajewski, and María Teresa Ruiz will discuss astronomy's challenges in the next decade. Registration required. | Puerto de Ideas Team / Francisca Jacob | Eloísa Díaz Room, Sitio Cero - Puerto Antofagasta (Av. Grecia s/n) | Saturday, April 26th – 3:30 PM |
| Talk: “Los mundos posibles de ALMA” | Learn how ALMA discovers candidate planets that may harbor life, and how our first contact with extraterrestrials might occur. Registration required. | Priscilla Nowajewski, astrobiologist and climatologist at ALMA | Francisco Varela Room / Sitio Cero / Puerto Antofagasta (Av. Grecia s/n) | Friday, April 25 – 10:15 AM |
| Build Your Own ALMA Antenna | Assemble a scaled paper model of an ALMA antenna. | ALMA Team | Workshop Room | Saturday, April 26 – 4:30 PM |
| ALMA Booth: Astronomia con todo el ALMA. | Discover how ALMA works and explore the antennas at the Chajnantor plateau through virtual reality goggles. | ALMA Team | Sitio Cero - Puerto Antofagasta (Av. Grecia s/n) | April 24–25: 9:00 AM to 4:30 PM April 26–27: 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM |
| Journey to the stars | Observe the night sky using special telescopes with guidance from ALMA and AUI/NRAO. | Puerto de Ideas / ALMA / UCN / UA Teams | In front of the Regional Library (Jorge Washington 2623) | Saturday, April 26 – 6:30 PM |
| Visit to ESO’s Paranal Observatory | Observe the night sky using special telescopes with ALMA and AUI/NRAO guidance. | Puerto de Ideas Team / ESO | In front of the Regional Library (Jorge Washington 2623) | Friday, April 25 – 1:30 PM |
| Talk: La construcción del ELT, el telescopio más grande del mundo. Un desafío humano y científico. | Discover how the world’s largest telescope is being built. | Itziar de Gregorio, ESO representative in Chile | Francisco Varela Room / Sitio Cero / Puerto Antofagasta (Av. Grecia s/n) | Friday, April 25 – 12:15 PM |
| ESO Booth: Meet the ELT | Learn about the world’s largest telescope currently being built in Antofagasta. | ESO Team | Sitio Cero - Puerto Antofagasta (Av. Grecia s/n) | April 24–25: 9:00 AM to 4:30 PM April 26–27: 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM |
You can check the full schedule on the event’s webpage Puerto de Ideas Antofagasta 2025.
We are waiting for you!
Additional information
ALMA is a partnership of ESO (representing its member states), NSF (USA) and NINS (Japan), together with NRC (Canada), NSTC 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.
Images
Contacts
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Nicolás Lira
Education and Public Outreach CoordinatorJoint ALMA Observatory, Santiago - ChilePhone: +56 2 2467 6519Cel: +56 9 9445 7726Email: [email protected]
