Cerro Pachón

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Wikipedia

Cerro Pachón
The SOuthern Astrophysical Research Telescope (SOAR) and Gemini South telecopes on Cerro Pachón as seen from Cerro Tololo in June of 2006.
Highest point
Elevation2,682 m (8,799 ft)
Coordinates30°14′16.41″S 70°44′01.11″W / 30.2378917°S 70.7336417°W / -30.2378917; -70.7336417[1]
Geography
Cerro Pachón is located in Chile
Cerro Pachón
Cerro Pachón
CountryChile

Cerro Pachón is a mountain in central Chile,[2] located east of the city of La Serena in the Coquimbo Region. The mountain is seismically active,[3] with a magnitude 5.6 earthquake impacting the summit on April 30, 2012.[4] Along with Cerro Tololo, this mountain forms part of the surrounding El Totoral Reserve that is owned by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA) Observatory.[5] It is the site of the 8.1 m Gemini South Telescope of the Gemini Observatory,[6] the 4.1 m SOAR optical imager,[7] and the Vera C. Rubin Observatory.[8][9]

The mountain site has arid, desert conditions with cacti, shrubs, and wildflowers dotting the landscape. It is host to fauna that include Andean condor, viscachas, and the occasional fox, as well as typical desert species such as lizards, snakes, spiders, and scorpions.[10] There is a rock art site thought to associated with the El Molle culture, 300 BC to 800 AD.[11]

Observatories

Starting in 1964, Cerro Morado and Cerro Pachón were the subject of routine observations of seeing conditions. Known as astronomical seeing monitors (ASM), these were operated by the Carnegie Institution of Washington.[12]

In 1989, site planning was begun by the National Optical Astronomy Observatory to select two sites for a proposed pair of 8 m telescopes, one in the northern hemisphere and the other in the south. The first telescope would be located on Mauna Kea in Hawaii, while the second would be at the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO), possibly on Cerro Pachón. It is the highest peak within the CTIO boundary, rising some 500 m higher than the nearby peaks of Cerro Tololo and Cerro Morado.[13] A site survey showed that the seeing conditions on Cerro Pachón rivalled that on Mauna Kea, and it was chosen as the site for the Gemini South observatory.[14] First light for the newly-commissioned telescope took place on January 18, 2002.[15]

The Andes Lidar Observatory was constructed on Cerro Pachón by the University of Illinois and saw first light in 2009.[16] This is an upper atmosphere facility that is supported by the National Science Foundation. It uses ground-based remote sensing instruments to study the atmosphere, particularly between altitudes of 80 to 110 km.[17]

The Vera C. Rubin Observatory is located on El Peñon (The Rock), the southernmost summit of Cerro Pachón.[18] It was selected as the site for the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope in May 2006, beating out the alternative Sierra de San Pedro Mártir site.[19] First light images were released 23 June 2025.[20][21]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Travel Information Cerro Pachón - Chile". NOIRLab. Retrieved 2024-10-28.
  2. ↑ Ridpath, Ian (19 January 2012). A Dictionary of Astronomy. OUP Oxford. ISBN 978-0-19-960905-5.
  3. ↑ Neill, Douglas R. (September 2012). Stepp, Larry M.; Gilmozzi, Roberto; Hall, Helen J. (eds.). "Seismic analysis of the LSST telescope". Ground-based and Airborne Telescopes IV. Proceedings of the SPIE. Ground-based and Airborne Telescopes IV. 8444. id. 84440T. Bibcode:2012SPIE.8444E..0TN. doi:10.1117/12.926258.
  4. ↑ D'Orgeville, Céline; et al. (July 2012). "Gemini South multi-conjugate adaptive optics (GeMS) laser guide star facility on-sky performance results". Adaptive Optics Systems III. Proceedings of the SPIE. Vol. 8447. id. 84471Q. Bibcode:2012SPIE.8447E..1QD. doi:10.1117/12.925813.
  5. ↑ "Windows to the Universe (multiple locations): AURA Observatory, Chile". UNESCO Portal to the Heritage of Astronomy. Retrieved 2025-07-06.
  6. ↑ Jamieson, Valerie (2002). "A new golden age for astronomy". Physics World. 15 (3): 23. doi:10.1088/2058-7058/15/3/29.
  7. ↑ Schwarz, Hugo E.; et al. (September 2004). Moorwood, Alan F. M.; Masanori, Iye (eds.). "The SOAR optical imager: status and first results". Ground-based Instrumentation for Astronomy. Proceedings of the SPIE. 5492: 564–573. Bibcode:2004SPIE.5492..564S. doi:10.1117/12.553185.
  8. ↑ "Vera C. Rubin Observatory official website". Retrieved 2025-06-23.
  9. ↑ Thomas, Sandrine J.; et al. (December 2020). "Vera C. Rubin Observatory: Telescope and site status". In Marshall, Heather K.; Spyromilio, Jason; Usuda, Tomonori (eds.). Proceedings of the SPIE, Ground-based and Airborne Telescopes VIII. Vol. 11445. id. 114450I. Bibcode:2020SPIE11445E..0IT. doi:10.1117/12.2561581. ISBN 978-1-5106-3677-4.
  10. ↑ "Cerro Pachón". rubinobservatory.org. Retrieved 2024-12-11.
  11. ↑ Moyano, Ricardo; et al. (2024). "Astronomical Representations and Shamanism in the Rock Art of the Semi-Arid North of Chile". Journal of Skyscape Archaeology. 10 (1): 47. doi:10.1558/jsa.26903. ISSN 2055-348X.
  12. ↑ Irwin, John B. (February 1966). "Variation of seeing with zenith distance". Astronomical Journal. 71: 28. Bibcode:1966AJ.....71...28I. doi:10.1086/109849.
  13. ↑ Wong, Woon-Yin; Barr, Lawrence D. (March 1989). "The Planning of NOAO 8-M Telescope Enclosure and Facilities". Astrophysics and Space Science. 160 (1–2): 87–101. Bibcode:1989Ap&SS.160...87W. doi:10.1007/BF00642757.
  14. ↑ Osmer, P. S. (October 1993). "The Gemini Project". Revista Mexicana de Astronomía y Astrofísica. 26: 83. Bibcode:1993RMxAA..26...83O.
  15. ↑ "First light on Gemini South". Physics World. January 18, 2002. Retrieved 2024-10-28.
  16. ↑ Swenson, G. R.; et al. (December 2009). The Andes Lidar Observatory (ALO) at Cerro Pachon, Chile, first light. American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2009. id. SA53A-1252. Bibcode:2009AGUFMSA53A1252S.
  17. ↑ "Andes Network for Middle and Upper Atmosphere Observations". National Science Foundation. Retrieved 2024-11-06.
  18. ↑ Els, S. G.; Sebag, J. (November 2011). Curé, M.; Otárola, A.; Marín, J.; Sarazin, M. (eds.). "Results from the LSST site monitoring". Astronomical Site Testing Data in Chile. Revista Mexicana de Astronomía y Astrofísica (Serie de Conferencias). 41: 79–82. Bibcode:2011RMxAC..41...79E.
  19. ↑ Feder, Toni (2006). "Chilean Site Chosen for LSST". Physics Today. 59 (7): 23. Bibcode:2006PhT....59g..23F. doi:10.1063/1.2337821.
  20. ↑ "Coming June 23, 2025: First Look at the cosmos with NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory". Vera C. Rubin Observatory. 28 May 2025.
  21. ↑ "Vera Rubin: First celestial image from revolutionary telescope". BBC News. June 23, 2025. Retrieved 23 June 2025.