The highest observatory in the world is inaugurated in Chile

The University of Tokyo launched this week the Atacama Observatory (TAO), built on the top of Chajmantor Hill – in northern Chile – at 5,640 meters above sea level, which incorporates a 6.5 meter optical-infrared telescope. which will be dedicated to understanding the nature of the universe, according to the academic center.

After 26 years of planning and construction, TAO is officially the highest observatory in the world, for which it has been awarded the Guinness Prize.

Located in the Chilean Atacama Desert, the new complex is not far from the ALMA (Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array) radio telescope, one of the largest astronomical projects in the world and participated in by an international association of countries.

“I seek to elucidate mysteries of the universe, such as dark energy and the first primordial stars. To do this, it is necessary to observe the sky in a way that only the TAO makes possible,” says professor emeritus Yuzuru Yoshii, who has directed the TAO project for 26 years and has been principal investigator since 1998, in the note from the Japanese university.

“Of course, it contains state-of-the-art optics, sensors, electronics and mechanisms, but the unique altitude of 5,640 meters is what gives TAO such clarity of vision. At that altitude, there is little humidity in the atmosphere that affects their infrared vision,” adds the professor.

Only one in the world

The altitude is also a difficulty for astronomers who go to work there, since the risk of altitude sickness is evident, especially at night. However, for Professor Takashi Miyata, responsible for the construction of the observatory, the arid environment and altitude pose numerous advantages.

“TAO will be the only ground-based telescope in the world capable of clearly seeing mid-infrared wavelengths. This area of ​​the spectrum is extremely good for studying the environments surrounding stars, including planet-forming regions,” Miyata highlights in the University of Tokyo press release.

The official website of the TAO project highlights the advantages of this advantageous environment that allows us to observe distant galaxies, the activities of celestial bodies hidden in dust and gas, and the dust that surrounds stars, among other research possibilities.

More than a dozen observatories and radio observatories are distributed throughout northern Chile, most of them located in the regions of Antofagasta, Atacama and Coquimbo, which have 29 communes declared by decree as areas with scientific and research value for observation. astronomical.