RAKIDUAM - Knowledge

Open skies: a look at the universe Chile, with some of the most transparent and clear skies in the world, has over 160 years of tradition in astronomical research, since the first astronomical instruments to arrive in the country were installed on the summit of Cerro Santa Lucia in Santiago. Since then, Chile has become an astronomical power, thanks to its natural conditions and a policy of incentives to install top-quality astronomical observatories. In fact, in the present day, 40% of the world’s astronomical observa- tions are done using infrastructure installed in the country, and this is expected to reach 70% in 2018. The Parque Astronómico Atacama is currently being built through scientific collaboration agreements with the world’s most prestigious institutions. The European E-ELT telescope will be installed in this park which will generate significant progress at a global level. The Ata- cama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) Radio Observatory is also part of this park, which began operations in 2011 and is operated by Associ- ated Universities Inc. (AUI), a network that groups the Universidad de Chile and important universities in the United States and Japan. This alliance will also operate with the sub-millimeter CCAT observatory to be inaugurated in 2017.