Month: January 2024

Atacama Postscript

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Heaven forbids, I should neglect to mention that San Pedro de Atacama–given its high altitude, and being as dry and remote as it is–also has the darkest sky on the planet, making it ideal for stargazing. And astronomers from across the globe are betting that ALMA’s array of 66 dishes–comprising the world’s largest ground-based telescope–can provide answers about our cosmic origins and our search for life within and beyond our universe.

Photo credit: José Francisco Salgado

Already, the ALMA (Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array) Observatory has made many significant discoveries, including:

  • In 2018, astronomers detected the presence of the most distant oxygen molecules ever observed, located a staggering 13.28 billion light-years away. This remarkable finding significantly contributed to our understanding of cosmic evolution, shedding light on the emergence of star formation in this distant galaxy a mere 250 million years after the Big Bang.
  • Additionally, ALMA made a stunning revelation by identifying billions of tons of table salt in orbit around a young star, offering a mesmerizing glimpse into the presence of familiar compounds in the cosmos.
  • Furthermore, ALMA has played a pivotal role in unraveling the mysteries of the universe. For instance, it detected branched organic molecules in a star-forming region of our Milky Way, providing valuable insights into the chemical composition of celestial bodies.
  • Moreover, ALMA’s observations have extended to other galaxies, such as the groundbreaking discovery of a disc around a star in a distant galaxy–a first-of-its-kind observation that advanced our understanding of stellar systems beyond our own. Furthermore, by studying a newly dormant galaxy, ALMA uncovered evidence of significant celestial events, identifying the ejection of star-forming fuel during a galactic merger and the formation of gas-rich tidal tails, providing a window into the cosmic processes that shape our universe.
  • ALMA has also helped researchers determine the types and locations of systems that could support habitable planets. ALMA has also provided information about worlds closer to home, including Saturn’s moon Titan. 

Sadly, there was no time in our itinerary to visit the ALMA facility, which welcomes all visitors during Saturday and Sunday. However, I attempted some astrophotography discoveries of my own during a celestial presentation at the edge of our resort, Hotel Cumbres San Pedro de Atacama, in my hope of capturing a vivid photograph of the night sky.

Armed with my Sony RX10 iv and tripod, our expedition troop marched in total darkness to the final plank of the resort’s boardwalk, bringing us to open desert, where two mounted telescopes were pointed at a black sky illuminated by a million points of light. The view was breathtaking! While most of the guests stretched out on pillows and blankets, I set up a camp chair and set my coordinates.

Regrettably, I failed. In order to reduce the digital noise during a long exposure, I adjusted the ISO to 400, which gave me a 30-sec. time exposure with an open aperture. The result was a tangle of small streaks, not stars. Apparently, the long exposure captured the path of the moving sky, albeit 3 shooting stars were framed in the effort.

Unwilling to admit defeat–the night before our return to Santiago–I leveled the tripod within the confines of my private garden and turned my camera toward the sky with newfound hope and a higher ISO to reduce my exposure. This time, the results were more satisfying.

While I had hoped for a glimpse of the Milky Way, I’ll settle for a Mars Bar from Valle de la Luna!

Next up: South America capitals…

Atacama Colors

Posted in Adventure, geology, hiking, landscape, National Parks, Nature, Photography, travel, video, wanderlustTagged , , , , , , 4 Comments

Despite the monochromatic omnipresence of shifting sand and salt across the Atacama Desert (observed from previous post, “Atacama Desert”)–

aside from the occasional splash of flamingo pink–

there is an abundance of color to behold in other regions of Antofagasta. Leah and I joined our expedition colleagues…

for a 90-minute drive north through remote, rugged terrain and narrow switchbacks, to catch a 7am sunrise over El Tatio Geysers, the highest, albeit 3rd largest geothermal field in the world, and certainly, the most active in the southern hemisphere.

At an altitude of 14,170 ft, the -6oC desert temperature was biting at our faces, but it was a temporary inconvenience. The backlit, pre-dawn sky and cold air benefitted the playful plumes that vented from 80 steaming geysers and fumaroles amid 12 sq miles of Andean volcanoes.

Like so many others, I was poised for the first sun to creep over the horizon,

not only to return the feeling to my fingers, but to reveal the chromatic clouds playing across the landscape.

Soon enough, the rising sun would turn the blackest of hot springs into a glorious reflecting pool.

It was worthy of a celebration.

Because El Tatio is community-owned and administered, there were several local rangers scattered throughout the vicinity to patrol, advise, and admonish any foolishness similar to Pierce Brosnan’s trespassing at Yellowstone National Park (although he entered a “not guilty” plea during his recent arraignment).

One can only hope that discretion and common sense would prevail in this fragile and volatile environment.

El Tatio Geyser

A stroll through the field revealed a kaleidoscope of algae-induced minerals and salts,

that stretched into the distance.

El Tatio didn’t appear as daunting as Old Faithful and its surroundings, but it was impressive, nonetheless, with nowhere near the number of onlookers!

From our position–only 100 miles to Ollagüe Volcano, bordering Chile and Bolivia–

we continued to Valle del Arcoiris, another community-based natural wonder,

where “purple mountains majesty”…

become a befitting backdrop to roaming, grazing llamas.

The valley was as wide and rich with the scent of riki riki…

as it was awash with colors created by a primordial stew of Sulphur, gypsum, crushed shells, and clay.

When the Pliocene Epoch carved out the valley,

all traces of copper and lithium were swept away–

which is a silver-lining for a spectacular landscape that would otherwise have been ravaged by mining companies.

Happily, we had a front row seat to all of it!

Atacama Desert

Posted in culture, geology, hiking, History, landscape, Nature, Photography, travelTagged , , , , , , , , , , 3 Comments

Rather than go thru the details of how we got here, suffice to say that 2 days of inconvenient travel brought us to the Chilean Andes…

to experience the highest and driest desert on earth (averaging 13,000 ft. elevation), where temperatures can fluctuate between 0oC and 25oC, and rainfall averages 2 mm of rain per year with a humidity factor of .02%.

The area is so vast, it spans Chile, Peru, Argentina, and Bolivia.

But despite the hostile environment, flora and fauna still manages to survive.

Our first destination was the Soncor Sector of Los Flamencos National Preserve,

where a variety of native flamingos congregate to feed on brine shrimp that flourish in pools along the salt flats.

Although the park flamingos were unidentifiable from a distance,

it became easier to identify their individual characteristics the closer we got to them,

distinguishing the flock as Andean flamingos.

Our next destination was Valle de la Luna (Valley of the Moon), another sector of Los Flamencos–only 10 minutes from San Pedro, across a dusty road built for vehicles with dependable suspension.

The park was aptly named by Gustavo Le Paige, a Belgian missionary who pioneered much of the archeological research of San Pedro de Atacama in the 1950’s.

The sector captures the essence of the region’s vastness and aridity, so much so, that NASA tested its Mars rovers on the surface to simulate future planetary exploration.

Salt and sodium nitrate crystals are found throughout the Atacama Desert, as the dry air and lack of vegetation allows them to collect on the surface.

Although the region also contains precious metals including an abundance of copper, silver and gold, it was the large cache of potassium nitrate that brought the railroads and development to Atacama, turning the region into a hub for culture and commerce by the 2nd half of the nineteenth century.

Today, large reserves of precious metals such as lithium provide a significant source of revenue for private and state-owned mining companies.

In fact, as of January 14, Chile’s SQM, the world’s 2nd largest producer of lithium has suspended its operations in Atacama due to 500 protestors from indigenous communities in the Antofagasta region who’ve been blockading roads–immobilizing workers, supplies and lithium to and from the mines–demanding that they be included in negotiations between SQM and the Chilean government.

Let’s hope that this conflict can be resolved quickly, so we may continue to feed our global appetite for electric vehicles.

Trips Ahoy!

Posted in Adventure, Airstream, Architecture, Canada, geology, landscape, Mexico, Nature, Photography, travel, wanderlustTagged , , , , , , , , 4 Comments

It’s a new year, and there has never been a better time for Leah and me to explore our world. We are always up for a challenge, so we’ve decided to begin 2024 with our most ambitious adventure yet. Not satisfied with returning to some of our favorite destinations–not that there’s anything wrong with familiar places—we booked a bucket list trip over a year ago that would literally take us out of our comfort zone.

We filled the waiting time by visiting friends and family across America (and a speck of Canada)–only some of which I memorialized during the past year in this blog. In fact, a large part of last year’s travels never made it past my unpublished thoughts and unprocessed SD cards, including: a trip to Israel (months before the October 7th massacre);

a Central American cruise to Costa Rica,

Panama City,

and Cartagena, Columbia;

as well as a relaxing siesta on the Riviera Maya in Mexico;

a flash visit to Victoria, BC;

and a southwestern tour of America in our silver bullet–

all worthy of sharing sooner than later.

But until then, I must fast forward to our most recent trip to Chile’s Atacama Desert before embarking aboard Viking’s Octantis to Patagonia and Antarctica–in search of whales, penguins and extraordinary landscapes.

We overnighted in Santiago, Chile,

followed by a morning flight to Copiapó, the region’s capital incorporating San Pedro de Atacama.

And set out to explore the highest, driest ecosystem on planet Earth.

Stay tuned for more of the southern hemisphere…