Under the darkest skies of the planet, in the middle of Atacama desert, telescope operators begin their day when the sun falls. They are responsible for guiding the observations that allow scientists around the world to explore the mysteries of the cosmos. When the domes are removed and the telescopes wake up, the operators work with astronomers to decide what to observe.
More than 2600 meters high, the Vary Large Telescope It is one of the most advanced instruments of terrestrial astronomy. In the control room, between screens and slates full of data, night teams coordinate each observation. The data obtained travel from Chile to the central archive of the European Observatory Austral, which is located in Germany, where selected researchers analyze them.
Despite the demand for work, operators value the experience of observing the universe from this place. Among them Andrés Pino, head of the Telescope Operations Group, instruments of this Observatory, recalls the night they captured the black hole of the Milky Way: “How the stars that surrounded that sector changed their position and speed, we even saw what we called ‘Flare’ live, which is very specific for us. more special I have in my memory. ”
Since the Paranal Observatory the telescopes have participated in historical discoveries such as the first image of an exoplanet and the research of the supermassive black hole in the center of the Milky Way.
#productive #telescope #operators #work #world
