MIT Alumni Astronomical Tour in Chile
January-February, 2006
Starting in late January, a group of 14 MIT alums and their companions visited three of the great astronomical observatories in Chile - Paranal, El Tololo, and the Magellan Project at Las Campanas. These observatories are at 8,000 feet above the Pacific in the coastal mountain range. Our visits included lectures and discussions with working astronomers and astrophysicists covering the research they are doing currently.
We also spent several days in the Atacama Desert, one of the driest places on Earth, and a few days in the Lake District, as well as two days in Santiago.
For a terrific day-by-day account of the trip, including additional pictures taken with a great camera, see Prof. Ed Bertschinger’s website at
