Atacama Plateau Site Visit, 2002

Astronomy related ictures from March 2002 visit to Atacama Plateau

Click on small picture to pull up a larger view. Some pictures have very large views available from the captions.

Return to main picture page

Satellite image of north eastern Chile showing the site and naming some mountains. (1.8 Mb map)
Joe Tufts's amazing picture looking toward the north from Honar's summit. (75 Kb)

Transporting a 10m submillimeter telescope to its place in Pampa la Bola. This, I believe, is ASTE, the Atacama sumbillimeter telescope experiment. The transport took 2 days and was, of course, done very carefully. The road was also made very smooth.
Another view of transporting ASTE to its site on Pampa la Bola.
A long range view of ASTE surmounting one obstacle on its way to its new home, a small hill. Chascon is on the left. (170 Kb image)
Pampa la Bola (4500m) from the west. The 10m ASTE is simply dwarfed by the site. (180 Kb image)

The DIMM setup on Chico with Carlos and Mariano. This was the day before the heavy snow day (the light snow day). It was reasonably windy - sustained wind around 25-30 mph. During operation, the DIMM runs off the truck battery and the testers get to stay in the truck with the radio on, the heater on, and the motor on. The truck is positioned where it shouldn't affect the measurements.
Another view of the Chico setup. The DIMM is screwed down on a table weighted down with rocks. Ruben, Mariano, and Carlos are making adjustments. Lican Cabur is in the background.
The DIMM setup on Honar. The summit is a fairly broad, relative flat place. Since the trucks couldn't reach the summit for a few days, we had to run the electronics off batteries and establish a tent for the testers. Again, the DIMM is screwed down on a table weighted with rocks. During the day, we simply used a tarp to protect the telescope. The tent guy lines were weighted down with rocks. Carlos (standing) and Mariano are enjoying the view.
Final touches to the Honar DIMM and tent setup.

The Honar DIMM setup is complete. From right to left: Ruben, Mariano, Carlos, and Pablo. The DIMM is Annie.
Our fearless leader, Pablo, in the tent at Honar. The DIMMs are run by the laptop. Once you have a star in the guidebox, things are pretty automatic. To stay comfy, we had sleeping bags, pads, food, and hot drinks. During this night, we measured 0.5" to 0.8" seeing.
Return to main picture page

Last modified on 23 Apr 2002

Transporting a 10m submillimeter telescope to its place in Pampa la Bola. This, I believe, is ASTE, the Atacama sumbillimeter telescope experiment. The transport took 2 days and was, of course, done very carefully. The road was also made very smooth.	Another view of transporting ASTE to its site on Pampa la Bola.	A long range view of ASTE surmounting one obstacle on its way to its new home, a small hill. Chascon is on the left. (170 Kb image)	Pampa la Bola (4500m) from the west. The 10m ASTE is simply dwarfed by the site. (180 Kb image)
The DIMM setup on Chico with Carlos and Mariano. This was the day before the heavy snow day (the light snow day). It was reasonably windy - sustained wind around 25-30 mph. During operation, the DIMM runs off the truck battery and the testers get to stay in the truck with the radio on, the heater on, and the motor on. The truck is positioned where it shouldn't affect the measurements.	Another view of the Chico setup. The DIMM is screwed down on a table weighted down with rocks. Ruben, Mariano, and Carlos are making adjustments. Lican Cabur is in the background.	The DIMM setup on Honar. The summit is a fairly broad, relative flat place. Since the trucks couldn't reach the summit for a few days, we had to run the electronics off batteries and establish a tent for the testers. Again, the DIMM is screwed down on a table weighted with rocks. During the day, we simply used a tarp to protect the telescope. The tent guy lines were weighted down with rocks. Carlos (standing) and Mariano are enjoying the view.	Final touches to the Honar DIMM and tent setup.
The Honar DIMM setup is complete. From right to left: Ruben, Mariano, Carlos, and Pablo. The DIMM is Annie.	Our fearless leader, Pablo, in the tent at Honar. The DIMMs are run by the laptop. Once you have a star in the guidebox, things are pretty automatic. To stay comfy, we had sleeping bags, pads, food, and hot drinks. During this night, we measured 0.5" to 0.8" seeing.