Three mega-telescopes will be installed in the country in the coming years. Together, they amount to a total investment of more than 5 billion dollars. In addition to boosting scientific development, it is estimated that the projects will impact job creation in nearby communities, driving a range of services associated with their operation.
In 1849, astronomical activity began in Chile with the installation of an observatory on Cerro Santa Lucía by the American astronomer James Melville. Since the 1960s, it has positioned itself globally as a privileged place for astronomy, and important international institutions have established their observatories in the north of the country. It is estimated that Chile currently concentrates 40% of the world’s astronomical observation capacity, and it is expected that by the end of this decade, this number will reach 70% with the start of operations of three astronomical megaprojects currently under construction.
The gigantic telescope arriving in Atacama
The design of the Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT for its acronym in English) began in 2004, driven by the Carnegie Institution for Science (USA), Harvard University, among other academic institutions. Currently under construction on Cerro Las Campanas in the Atacama Region, it is an ambitious project with a telescope up to 200 times larger than existing ones, which will use seven of the largest mirrors in the world in search of planets outside the Solar System.
Miguel Roth, emeritus representative of the Telescope, explains that Chile was chosen as the host state because in the southern hemisphere there is no other place with comparable characteristics. “The quality of Chile’s sky is a fundamental fact, you are not going to invest billions of dollars in a site that will not give you the best conditions you can get. But apart from that, there is a tradition of telescopes in Chile and over the years the State has supported the installation of telescopes and has supported astronomical activity in general,” he pointed out.
The project management is in the hands of the GMTO Corporation (Giant Magellan Telescope Organization), an international consortium formed by 14 research institutions representing Australia, Brazil, South Korea, Taiwan, and the United States. Of the 2.54 billion dollars presented to the United States National Science Foundation (NSF), the Giant Magellan Telescope has already committed more than 850 million. It is projected that the “first light,” as they call the first images captured by the telescope, will be at the beginning of the 2030s.
The largest visible light telescope will be in Antofagasta
Beyond the quality of Chile’s skies and the institutional presence in the country for more than six decades, there are other aspects that foreign institutions consider when choosing the country as the base for their next observation projects. “Chile exempts the payment of taxes on the importation of astronomical instrumentation. Additionally, it is one of the few countries in the world that has a regulation for light pollution, with special requirements in declared protection areas for astronomical research,” highlighted Luis Chavarría, representative of the European Southern Observatory in Chile.
The European Southern Observatory or ESO for its acronym in English, is an intergovernmental organization of 16 member states that contribute a percentage of their GDP for its financing. The beginning of the relationship between the organization and Chile dates back to 1963, and to date, important observatories such as Paranal, La Silla, and ALMA operate in the country, along with their international partners. Annually, they invest 23 billion pesos in Chile, mainly in the hiring of services. Additionally, they have more than 280 workers, where 60% work in the regions of Coquimbo and Antofagasta, and most of these hires are in technical and engineering areas.
In 2005, plans began to develop the Extremely Large Telescope (ELT, for its acronym in English), which will have a main mirror of 39 meters (in comparison, a basketball court is 29 meters long) and will be the largest visible light telescope in the world. According to the current planning, the ELT is expected to operate for at least thirty years.
In total, the ESO has invested 1.5 billion dollars in the construction of the project and its first observations are expected in 2028. The organization estimates that the operational cost will be a little more than 50 million euros and, although they currently invest a little more than 3 billion pesos a year in purchases in the Antofagasta Region, it is most likely that this amount will increase with the entry into operation of the ELT.
Coquimbo and the largest digital camera in the world
The operation of these observation megaprojects has undoubtedly had an economic impact in the area, due to the development of a range of services around their operation. This is confirmed by Alejandra Voigt, vice president and director in Chile of the AURA Observatory (AURA-O), present in the country since 1961, which has more than 20 astronomical telescopes in Chile and is in charge of the construction of the Vera C. Rubin project, a mega observation facility that will feature the largest digital camera in the world.
“The direct provision of services has been becoming more sophisticated in the area where the observatories operate. But in addition, other things are being generated such as hotels, restaurants, and astrotourism, which has been explosive around the observatories, because they have the quality seal of the sky. They offer a service that is guaranteed because the world’s great telescopes are installed in their commune,” she commented.
The AURA Observatory (AURA-O) represents in Chile the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA, for its acronym in English) and has an annual budget of 150 million dollars for its operations in the national territory, where about half is allocated to salaries. Of the total of its workers, 80% are in the Coquimbo Region and the smallest part are astronomers, only about 15%. The rest of the investment for operation is allocated to commercial agreements with local contractors, for services such as food, maintenance, transportation, and others.
The Vera Rubin is a project funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Office of Science of the Department of Energy (DOE) of the United States, currently under construction on Cerro Pachón in the Coquimbo Region. Since its foundation began in 2015, about a billion dollars have been invested, and it is expected that in its 10 years of operation it will answer key questions for astronomy, by capturing images that will cover an area 40 times the size of the full moon that will allow observing huge swathes of the solar system still unknown.
The positive impact of astronomy on communities
These projects that will begin to operate within the next decade, like the current observatories, by law must designate 10% of observation time to Chilean astronomical institutions. This kind of royalty has allowed an expansion of this science in Chile and a consolidation of Chilean academics internationally.
But the impact of these projects goes much further, since part of the large budgets allocated by these international institutions are also intended to develop projects that promote astronomy and sciences with local communities, and to raise awareness about the importance of protecting the skies in Chile.
The Giant Magellan Telescope develops various social impact initiatives, among them the realization of a digital art contest with more than 230 artists in its first version; in addition to the implementation of astronomical scientific education programs that have reached more than 6,500 students and 230 teachers. For its part, the ESO has regional relations offices in Coquimbo and Antofagasta, to carry out projects such as granting scholarships to students from the commune of Taltal.
From the start of its operations, in the middle of next year, the data obtained by the Vera C. Rubin telescope will be freely accessible to the Chilean astronomical community. “The beauty of the data is that it will be as user-friendly as possible and will be processed, so that anyone, with minimal knowledge, can access that data and work with it. For students of astronomy, physics, or engineering, a source of information will open up that we cannot measure today,” added Alejandra.
