Announcement: Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory

26 January 2022: On the night of Monday 24 January 2022 the Seremi de Ciencia Macrozona Centro, the Gobernación Regional, and the Municipality of Andacollo, a town near Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO) in Chile, held an event called Blackout for Our Skies. The event was organized in conjunction with NSF NOIRLab and AURA, the Office for the Protection of Sky Quality in Northern Chile (OPCC in Spanish), and other organizations in the region. The light-out event involved the town of Andacollo’s public lights being progressively shut down, starting at 9 p.m., followed by the lights of public institutions and finally the lights of some of the local residents. The event allowed the residents of Andacollo to enjoy the stars without the public lighting in the town. The director of OPCC, Pedro Sanhueza, and Daniel Munizaga from NOIRLab, traveled to Cerro Tololo to document the change in sky brightness during the event as …

10 January 2022: In October 2021 more than 700 people from 76 countries took part in the United Nations/Spain/International Astronomical Union Conference on Dark and Quiet Skies for Science and Society online, following the online workshop on the same theme held in October 2020. At this second meeting delegates focused on the feasibility of implementing the specific measures to mitigate the impact of artificial interferences affecting the visibility of the sky and the detection of cosmic radio signals recommended in the first conference. The results of this meeting are contained in the reports, which are now available online. The main findings of the conference will also be presented to the 59th Session of the Scientific and Technical Sub Committee (STSC) of the UN Committee for the Peaceful Use of Outer Space (COPUOS) in the form of a Working Paper in February 2022. The Dark and Quiet Skies II conference and its reports focused …

22 December 2021: When you open a new tab or window in your web browser, wouldn’t it be nice if that window opened onto a beautiful cosmic vista? A new Google Chrome extension from NSF’s NOIRLab can now make that happen. Once installed, the extension randomly selects one of NOIRLab’s Top 100 images from our gallery and displays it when the user opens a new browser tab or window. In the lower-left corner of the window, the image title and credit are shown next to the NOIRLab logo. (Clicking the title will open a page on the NOIRLab website that provides more information about the image.) Simply reload the window or tab to enjoy a new randomly selected NOIRLab image. To install the extension, visit https://chrome.google.com/webstore/search/noirlab with your Chrome browser, and explore some of the awe-inspiring images created by NSF’s NOIRLab. More information NSF’s NOIRLab (National Optical-Infrared Astronomy Research Laboratory), the US center …

3 December 2021: If you have ever wondered what it’s like to be an astronomer observing the Universe with one of the most powerful astronomical cameras ever built, now is your chance to find out. On Monday 6 December 2021 NSF’s NOIRLab will partner with universities and organizations in Chile to air a public livestream from the 570-megapixel Dark Energy Camera (DECam) mounted on the Víctor M. Blanco 4-meter Telescope in Chile at the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory, a Program of NOIRLab. During the one-hour event, which will start at 10 p.m. CLST / 8 p.m. EST / 6 p.m. MST on 6 December, astronomers Paulina Troncoso from Central University in La Serena, Erika Labbé from the Diego Portales University, Fernanda Urrutia from NOIRLab, and Luis Chavarría from the European Southern Observatory will talk about the observations DECam is making in real time. Created and organized by Troncoso and Labbé under the concept …

23 November 2021: NOIRLab, in conjunction with the University of Hawai‘i’s Institute for Astronomy (IfA) and the Maunakea Observatories (MKOs), shared the Universe with learners of all ages at Astroday Kona on Sunday 14 November 2021. The free, open-air event, organized by IfA, attracted over 500 family and visitor participants at the Kona Commons shopping center where shoppers joined observatory staff in activities ranging from making star lei to solar viewing. After a break in 2020 due to the pandemic, AstroDay Kona resumed this year in Kona for the fourth time. The Maunakea observatories were joined by other Hawaiʻi astronomy facilities from Hawaiʻi Island and Maui. IfA Outreach Manager Carolyn Kaichi led the organization of the event and said, “We are extremely grateful to the community partnerships that allow for the continuation of AstroDay in Kona and especially the support of Kona Commons and its staff.” The NOIRLab booth featured handouts including image …

9 November 2021: NSF’s NOIRLab is presenting about the importance of clear and dark skies at a virtual event named “Chilean Astronomy: A window to the Universe”, organized by the Chilean Embassy in Singapore in partnership with the Science Centre Singapore. The four-day program highlights the astronomical infrastructures hosted by Chile, and includes the possibility of interacting with experts, such as representatives from astronomical societies and some of the biggest observatories in the world operating in Chile. The topics of the event range from star hunting, light pollution, and inclusivity in astronomy, to the streaming of related documentaries like Big Astronomy: People, Places, Discoveries. Juan Seguel, Education & Engagement Specialist at NOIRLab, presented a talk called Astronomy and light pollution + Globe at Night Campaign where he described the Globe at Night project and addressed questions from the audience. The event will be live-streamed via Science Centre Singapore's YouTube channel, and the Embassy …

8 November 2021: Monday 8 November to Friday 12 November 2021 sees the tenth version of Viaje al Universo, one of the education programs that NSF’s NOIRLab organizes in Chile to bring the wonders of the Universe to students, teachers and families. Although all the activities this year will again be carried out in virtual form, owing to the pandemic, this year's version will be partly hybrid: students will receive different education kits that will allow them to participate from their homes or schools in activities that are taught during Viaje al Universo week. Thanks to the kits, students will have the necessary materials to closely follow workshops in which they can learn about the colors of stars, the planets of the Solar System and their different masses, spectroscopy, the layers of the Earth’s atmosphere, the Sun, and the constellations, as well as about how to care for and preserve dark skies. Each …

4 November 2021: For more than sixty years the Decadal Surveys have embodied a consensus vision for our field. As the US national organization for open-access nighttime optical astronomy, NOIRLab stands ready, along with our managing organization the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA), to join our community in advocating for and contributing to the implementation of the Survey’s recommendations. As a partner in the US Extremely Large Telescope Program (US-ELTP), we are issuing the following statement: The US Extremely Large Telescope Program is grateful for the Pathways to Discovery in Astronomy and Astrophysics for the 2020s Decadal Survey process and is now reviewing the recommendations in detail. The Decadal Survey has a rich history of driving technological innovation and expanding scientific boundaries, and we are proud to be part of that story. Our visionary program aims to provide US astronomers with nationally-funded observing access to the entire sky. The program …

29 October 2021: The SATCON2 workshop addressed a watershed moment in the transformation of space. In 2018, a few thousand operational satellites orbited the Earth. By 2030, there may be more than 100,000. A massive cloud of satellites presents significant to existential impacts on ground-based astronomy, and further impacts that extend to the environment, astro-tourism, and human health. While space offers many new frontiers and benefits to humanity, the sudden advance of spacefaring technology to the private sector comes with many side effects that should be carefully considered. SATCON2 brought together members of many communities: astronomy, satellite operators, environmental and dark-sky advocates, and representatives from diverse and underrepresented communities. The details of their comprehensive work are presented in 4 reports from the working groups — Observations, Algorithms, Community Engagement and Policy — which have been compiled and are being released today. The Observations and Algorithms working groups explored some SATCON1 recommendations directly, and …

22 October 2021: Members of the team that developed the Image Reduction and Analysis Facility (IRAF) software system are this year’s recipients of the Astronomical Data Analysis Software and Systems (ADASS) Prize for an Outstanding Contribution to Astronomical Software. This is the second year this prize has been awarded by the organization. Developed at the National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO), now NSF’s NOIRLab, IRAF is a general-purpose software system used for decades by numerous ground- and space-based observatories as a standard platform to reduce and analyze scientific data. The award is for the design and development of the core IRAF system and science packages, which have enabled almost 25,000 scientific papers since its first public release in 1986. The three recipients of the prize are NOIRLab scientist Frank Valdes and former NOAO staff members Doug Tody and Lindsey Davis. The award recognizes the outstanding contribution of IRAF to the astronomical software community and …

15 October 2021: The Satellite Constellations 2 (SATCON2) workshop, held 12–16 July 2021, brought together more than 350 astronomers, satellite operators, dark-sky advocates, policy experts, and other stakeholders from 40 countries to discuss how to implement the strategies and recommendations emerging from the 2020 SATCON1 workshop to minimize the negative impacts of satellite constellations on astronomy and the night sky. The executive summary of the SATCON2 report is released today online. The full report, which will add the detailed reports of the four SATCON2 working groups to the Executive Summary, will be released in the near future. The primary goal of SATCON2 was to develop specific, implementable paths to carrying out the ten recommendations agreed on at SATCON1. SATCON2’s two additional goals were to engage a considerably wider group of stakeholders in the conversations than had been present at SATCON1 and to explore existing policy frameworks, generating ideas for the development of policies …

16 September 2021: Today Sian Proctor, a participant in the Astronomy in Chile Educator Ambassadors Program (ACEAP) has successfully piloted the Inspiration4 mission carrying her and three other crew members in the SpaceX Dragon Spacecraft to orbit. Proctor is one of four African-American women to have flown into space and the first to pilot a spacecraft. The Inspiration4 crew will orbit Earth for three days and conduct a variety of experiments before returning to Earth. Proctor, selected as an astronaut by SpaceX in April 2021, is a geoscientist, explorer, space artist, and science communication specialist with a passion for space exploration. Her motto is Space2inspire, and she encourages people to use their unique, one-of-a-kind strengths and passion to inspire those within their reach and beyond. “I feel so fortunate to be a member of the Inspiration4 crew and to be able to use Space2inspire to impact educators from around the world,” Proctor said. …

12 July 2021: NOIRLab's new Science website launched today, 12 July 2021. The science website is the culmination of months of work by dozens of NOIRLab staff to migrate information for the science community — current users of our facilities, and prospective users — from existing websites. Several new features are now available on the Science website: There are a number of new NOIRLab pages, spanning the observatories we operate, such as, About NOIRLab, Programs & Projects, Observing at NOIRLab, Data Services, and Weather and Webcams . A new Code of Conduct for NOIRLab meetings. A meetings database which lists past meetings and their web pages. A News page containing an archive of all past Currents and Gemini e-Newscast articles and will host all future science user announcements. Two different monthly Newsletters will be sent to our community, one focusing on Gemini news, and one with all news from all NOIRLab Programs (including …

12 July 2021: On Friday, 16 July 2021, astronomers will discuss findings from the Satellite Constellations 2 (SATCON2) workshop during a virtual press conference hosted by NSF’s NOIRLab and the American Astronomical Society (AAS). The briefing, to be conducted via Zoom, will begin at 4:00 pm US Eastern Daylight Time (20:00 UTC) and last 1 hour. Registration is free to accredited media representatives; instructions appear below. SATCON2 will gather more than 350 astronomers, satellite operators, dark-sky advocates, policy experts, and other stakeholders from 40 countries to discuss how to implement the strategies and recommendations emerging from SATCON1 to minimize the negative impacts of satellite constellations on astronomy and the night sky. SATCON2 has three objectives: Define and quantify resources, metrics, and collaborations needed to implement the SATCON1 recommendations, many of which will require substantial effort and funds to address. Engage astronomers and satellite operators collaboratively in exploring policy frameworks and developing policy strategies …

7 July 2021: For the first time ever, the Solar System Walk — which has been a successful annual fixture in Waimea, Hawai‘i, for several years — will also take place in Hilo on Hawai‘i Island. The Solar System Walk will take place in the Liliʻuokalani Park and Gardens in Hilo, with some adjustments to accommodate COVID-19 safety measures. The Solar System Walk will be available from 7 July 2021, and will continue for one month. The start date coincides with the celestial Tanabata Festival, which is celebrated at Liliʻuokalani Gardens. The Hilo Solar System Walk has been made possible by the NSF’s NOIRLab’s first-time partnership with the Friends of Liliʻuokalani Gardens. “We are excited to host the Solar System Walk and bring this event to Hilo, especially when it coincides with the Tanabata Festival,” said K.T. Cannon-Eger, president of the Friends of Liliʻuokalani Gardens. “On 7 July we’ll be providing visitors with …

2 July 2021: NSF’s NOIRLab is launching four new logos for the NOIRLab family: one each for the Community Science and Data Center (CSDC), Kitt Peak National Observatory (KPNO), Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO), and the Mid-Scale Observatories (MSO) which comprise KPNO and CTIO. The international Gemini Observatory logo remains unchanged. With an eye to the existing NOIRLab logo and Vera C. Rubin Observatory logo, the designers wanted to ensure the new logos conveyed astronomy, are recognizable to non-specialists, are attractive for scientists, and appealing to the public. The star cluster from the NOIRLab and Rubin Observatory logos is a unifying element among the NOIRLab Program logos and will always be featured on the left of each of these logos. Representations of the 4-meter telescopes and the mountain ranges are used in the KPNO, CTIO, and MSO logos as they are quickly and easily recognizable to scientists and non-specialists as astronomical facilities. The …

8 June 2021: Scientists working with the Dark Energy Camera (DECam), on the Víctor M. Blanco 4-meter Telescope at the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO), a Program of NSF NOIRLab and located in the Coquimbo Region of northern Chile, are celebrating a major milestone: the instrument has taken its one-millionth exposure. One of the most powerful digital cameras in the world, the Dark Energy Camera was designed specifically for the Dark Energy Survey. It was funded by the Department of Energy (DOE) and was built and tested at DOE's Fermilab. This milestone came while performing observations as part of the DECam eROSITA Survey. This visible-light survey is designed to follow up on targets observed in X-rays by the eROSITA X-ray instrument, which sits aboard the Russian–German Spectrum–Roentgen-Gamma (Spektr-RG) mission, an observatory that launched in 2019 to map the cosmos. At the time of this exposure DECam was making an observation of a galaxy …

7 May 2021: We are pleased to announce that the Satellite Constellations 2 (SATCON2) workshop will be held virtually 12–16 July 2021 to discuss how to implement the mitigation strategies (determined in SATCON1) to minimize the impact of satellite constellations on astronomy. SATCON2, the successor workshop to last year's SATCON1, has three objectives: Define and quantify resources, metrics, and collaborations needed to implement the SATCON1 recommendations, many of which will require substantial effort and funds to address. Engage astronomers and satellite operators collaboratively in exploring policy frameworks and developing policy points for operations in low Earth orbit (LEO). Increase the diversity of stakeholders and perspectives working to address both the challenges and the opportunities for astronomers, satellite operators, and all of humanity created by the industrialization of space. From May through early July 2021, four working groups will explore topics relevant to these goals. The Observations Group (chaired by Meredith Rawls, University of …

29 April 2021: NSF’s NOIRLab will share free astronomy-themed activities during AstroDay, an annual event on Hawai‘i Island, which has been extended for a full weekend this year. From Friday 30 April through Sunday 2 May 2021, anyone in the Hilo area of Hawai‘i can pick up take-home science kits at Prince Kūhiō Plaza, while others can find online activities to enjoy wherever they live. First held in 2002, AstroDay offers a unique opportunity to learn about the science that takes place on Maunakea and throughout the state of Hawai‘i. Prior to 2020, AstroDay was a single-day event held at the Prince Kūhiō Plaza mall in Hilo, involving in-person hands-on science activities and performances presented by dozens of organizations from around the state. In 2021, AstroDay participants can visit the Prince Kūhiō Plaza any time during regular business hours from 30 April through 2 May to pick up free materials and activity kits …

6 April 2021: Sian Proctor, a participant in the Astronomy in Chile Educator Ambassadors Program (ACEAP) in 2016, has been selected as an astronaut by SpaceX. The Inspiration4 mission, scheduled to launch sometime after 15 September 2021, will orbit Earth for three days and conduct a variety of experiments. Proctor is a geoscientist, explorer, space artist, and science communication specialist with a passion for space exploration. Her motto is Space2inspire, and she encourages people to use their unique, one-of-a-kind strengths and passion to inspire those within their reach and beyond. “I feel so fortunate to be a member of the Inspiration4 crew and to be able to use Space2inspire to impact educators from around the world,” Proctor said. “ACEAP is an excellent example of how looking up at the night sky is a shared experience that can inspire us all.” ACEAP is a collaboration between Associated Universities Inc. (AUI) and Association of Universities …