Final night

The view from our rooms on Cerro Tololo.

Professor of Physics Linda French

September 15

I’m writing this from my office back on campus after our 26-hour trip home. The last night of observing was clear and a bit too eventful: the observatory’s Internet connection went down a couple of hours before sunset. I had prepared a file to tell us where to point the telescope that night, as I always do, but for some reason–fatigue, probably!–I had not yet downloaded it. To my amazement, a commercial planetarium program gave perfectly acceptable results, and we were on the asteroid with no time lost.

We arrived back in La Serena just in time for a fiesta; it was the beginning of a week-long celebration leading up to Chile’s national holiday. The CTIO and Gemini facilities were hosting the fiesta, and we were invited for food, dancing, and music. We enjoyed empanadas (delicious turnovers filled with meat and/or vegetables), and then we realized that we were far too tired to wait for the main courses. We made a quick trip to the supermercado for enough food for the next 24 hours, and it was fun to see Chilean flags everywhere. There was a large display of chicha, a fermented grape drink which is traditional during the September holidays.

We had a few hours on Saturday before heading to the airport. Kundan headed off to explore La Serena, while I visited with my friends Gustavo Arriagada, his wife Ivonne, and their daughter Pamela. The last time I saw Pamela, she was about three years old, and now she is a graduate student in astronomy at Universidad Catolica de Chile! She has recently been awarded time on the Gemini telescope–and she has one proud papa! When Gustavo and I met, he was an electronics engineer, fixing broken tape drives. He is now the Director of Engineering for all of Gemini. We had a good visit, talking about politics (there and here), Facebook, high school reunions, and the challenges of caring for aging parents. So many things are universal!

So now the grind begins (after catching up in classes!) The data must be prepared, reduced, and analyzed. And, within a month, observing proposals are due again for next spring and summer! It’s a never-ending cycle. Much as I might grumble about sleep deprivation, I am reminded, as always, of the words of the great Chilean singer and songwriter, Violeta Parra:

Gracia a la vida
Que me a dado tanto…

Thanks to life
Which has given me so much….

The view of the Andes from the "astronomers' table" on Cerro Tololo.

At the supermarket: Chicha is a grape drink very popular during the national holidays.

Linda's friends Gustavo Arriagada, Director of Engineering at Gemini, his wife Ivonne, and daughter Pamela.