Cerro Armazones

Cerro Armazones is a mountain located in the Sierra Vicuña Mackenna of the Chilean Coast Range, approximately 130 km (81 mi) south-east of Antofagasta in the Antofagasta Region, Chile. Before construction started on the European Extremely Large Telescope, the summit was a horizontal control point with an elevation of 3,064 metres (10,052 ft).[1] The new elevation is 3,046 m (9,993 ft).[2] It is located in a privileged zone for optical astronomy because it has 89% cloudless nights a year.[3] It currently hosts the 1.5 m (5 ft) Hexapod-Telescope and other telescopes at the Cerro Armazones Observatory.

Cerro Armazones
Aerial view of the Cerro Armazones
Highest point
Elevation3,046 m (9,993 ft)
Coordinates24°35′21″S 70°11′32″W 
Geography
Cerro Armazones
Location in Chile
LocationAntofagasta Region, Chile
Parent rangeCordillera Vicuña Mackenna

On 26 April 2010, the European Southern Observatory Council selected Cerro Armazones as the site for the planned Extremely Large Telescope, and construction began in June 2014.[4][5]

  • Supermoon rising up from behind Cerro Armazones.[6]
  • Night-time panorama of Cerro Armazones
  • Carving a route to Armazones, with Cerro Paranal and the Very Large Telescope in the background.
  • Result of the apparent motion of the stars through the southern sky.[7]
  • VLT's Auxiliary Telescope (AT) 2 with Cerro Armazones in the background. Credit: ESO/G. Lombardi
  • Sunset Cerro Armazones.
  • 360 panorama.

References
  1. Joint Operations Graphic (JPEG) (Map) (1st ed.). 1 : 250,000. 1501. Defence Mapping Agency Topographic Center. 1974. p. Sheet SG 19-2.
  2. "The Extremely Large Telescope". www.eso.org. Retrieved 29 June 2017.
  3. Schöck, M.; Els, S.; Riddle, R.; Skidmore, W.; Travouillon, T.; Blum, R.; Bustos, E.; Chanan, G.; Djorgovski, S. G.; Gillett, P.; Gregory, B.; Nelson, J.; Otárola, A.; Seguel, J.; Vasquez, J.; Walker, A.; Walker, D.; Wang, L. (1 April 2009). "Thirty Meter Telescope Site Testing I: Overview". Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific. 121 (878): 384–395. arXiv:0904.1183. Bibcode:2009PASP..121..384S. doi:10.1086/599287.
  4. "E-ELT Site Chosen". Europe: European Southern Observatory. 26 April 2010. Retrieved 26 April 2010.
  5. "Astronomers to blow top off mountain to make way for world's biggest". The Independent. 2014-06-19. Retrieved 2019-07-28.
  6. "Supermoon beckons in the new year". www.eso.org. Retrieved 8 January 2018.
  7. "Ripples Across the Chilean Sky". ESO Picture of the Week. Retrieved 29 May 2013.


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