Atacama desert – आवारा मुसाफिर

Chile desert surprises with rare winter bloom

July 10, 2024196 Views

The sand dunes of Chile's Atacama desert, the driest on the planet, have been blanketed by white and purple blooms in recent days after early rains caused flowers to spring up in the dead of the Southern Hemisphere winter. The Atacama has been dubbed the "flowering desert," with resistant seeds and bulbs enduring the harsh weather to pop up as flowers every few years in the spring. But recent heavy rains, attributed to the weather phenomenon known as El Nino, have caused them to bloom early. There have not yet been enough winter blooms to officially be considered an occurrence of the "flowering desert," according to Cesar Pizarro, who heads biodiversity conservation for the National Forestry Corporation (CONAF), an organization run by the Chilean government. But more rains are expe

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ESO’s biggest eye on the sky getting ready

AWARA MUSAFIR BUREAU

December 18, 2023642 Views

First segments of the world's largest telescope mirror shipped to Chile The construction of the European Southern Observatory’s Extremely Large Telescope (ESO's ELT) has reached an important milestone with the delivery to ESO and shipment to Chile of the first 18 segments of the telescope’s main mirror (M1). Once they arrive in Chile, the segments will be transported to the ELT Technical Facility, at ESO’s Paranal Observatory in the country’s Atacama Desert, where they will be coated in preparation for their future installation on the telescope main structure. Unable to be physically made in one piece, M1 will consist of 798 individual segments arranged in a large hexagonal pattern, with an additional 133 being produced to facilitate the recoating of segments. Primary mirror, M1, se...

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One of the world’s largest telescope is now half completed

AWARA MUSAFIR BUREAU

July 11, 20231124 Views

ESO’s ground based ELT is located atop Cerro Armazones in Chile’s Atacama Desert The European Southern Observatory’s Extremely Large Telescope (ESO’s ELT) is a revolutionary ground-based telescope that will have a 39-metre main mirror and will be the largest telescope in the world for visible and infrared light: the world’s biggest eye on the sky. Construction of this technically complex project is advancing at a good pace, with the ELT now surpassing the 50% complete milestone. This image, taken in late June 2023, shows a webcam image of the construction site of ESO’s Extremely Large Telescope at Cerro Armazones, in Chile's Atacama Desert. The starry background is dominated by the core of the Milky Way, our home galaxy, and the Large and Small Magellanic clouds, two dwarf galaxies ...

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What is the secret behind spectacular blooms in world’s driest desert!

AWARA MUSAFIR BUREAU

October 25, 2022185 Views

Invisible to human eyes, diversity in flower color and patterning is even greater for pollinators The Atacama Desert, which stretches for approximately 1,600 km along the western coast of the cone of South America, is the driest place on Earth. Some weather stations there have never recorded rainfall throughout their existence. But it‘s far from barren: many species live here that occur nowhere else, adapted to its extreme conditions. And approximately every five to 10 years, from September to mid-November, the Atacama hosts one of the most spectacular sights of the natural world: the ‘desierto florido’ (literally ‘blooming desert’). These mass blooms, one of which is currently going on in the northern Atacama after abundant rainfall earlier this year, often attract media attention fro...

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Chile’s flowering desert may bloom again after heavy rains

AWARA MUSAFIR BUREAU

August 25, 2022271 Views

The arid plains of northern Chile are likely to once again be painted a rainbow of colors with blooming flowers after this year's winter rains set the stage for the so-called flowering desert in the Atacama Desert. The Atacama bloom attracts large numbers of local and foreign tourists and happens after heavy rains in the southern hemisphere's winter. In June, some areas received more than 80 millimeters (3.15 inches) of water, a significant amount for the normally arid desert, said biologist Roberto Contreras. FILE PHOTO: A view of the Atacama desert partially covered with flowers during 'Desierto Florido' (Bloomed desert), a natural phenomenon that fill with flowers and plants the driest desert in the world and takes place during spring, near Copiapo, Chile, October 13, 2021. RE...

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Exotic wines hide in the heights of Chile’s Atacama desert

AWARA MUSAFIR BUREAU

May 25, 2022368 Views

Extreme temperatures, intense desert sun and high altitudes give grapes grown in Chile's Atacama Desert a thick skin, which indigenous farmers from the world's driest desert says leads to an intensely colored wine with bold flavors. Up at 3,600 meters (11,800 feet) above sea level, in between highland peaks with scarce vegetation, the grapes from Caracoles vineyard withstand extreme temperature fluctuations and harsh weather. Despite that, Cecilia Cruz, who has managed the vineyard for the last six years, says she is used to the desert's rough conditions. Farmer Cecilia Cruz, 67, poses at the grape plot of her vineyerd, Caracoles, which is at more than 3,000 meters of altitude, in the commune of Socaire, in San Pedro de Atacama, Chile May 17, 2022. REUTERS/Rodrigo Gutierrez "For ...

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In Chile’s Atacama, lithium mining stirs fight over flamingos

AWARA MUSAFIR BUREAU

May 19, 2022993 Views

On the white plains of Chile's lithium-rich Atacama desert, bright pink flamingos enliven the sprawling salt flats where sporadic blue pools provide much needed hydration. But flamingo numbers are falling, with a new study linking this to the water extracted by mining firms to pump up brine filled with lithium, the metal used to make batteries for mobile phones, laptop computers and electric vehicles. Miners contend their operations do not affect flamingo herds and say the studies are based on unreliable data. The stand-off underscores growing tensions in the Andean nation over water use and mining's impact on local communities and the environment. Tougher regulation is a risk for firms in the world's No. 2 lithium producer and No. 1 for copper. FILE PHOTOS: Flamingos fly over...

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तारों को निहारते रहें सारी रात

UPENDRA SWAMI

November 17, 20201179 Views

क्या बात है जब होटल का कमरा केवल रुकने का ठिकाना भर न रहे बल्कि रात भर तारों को निहारते रहने का भी अड्डा बन जाए। चिली में एल्की डोमोस ऐसी ही जगह है आंखों-आंखों में रातें गुजारने की बातें आपने फिल्मी गीतों में बहुत सुनी होंगी लेकिन इस बार जिस जगह हम आपको ले चल रहे हैं, वहां वाकई आपकी रातें केवल तारों को निहारते हुए ही गुजरेंगी। आखिरकार समूची दुनिया में तारों से लकदक आसमान को निहारने के लिए इससे बढ़िया जगह कोई नहीं। यहां रात वाकई तारों की सेज पर गुजरती है। हम बात कर रहे हैं दक्षिण अमेरिका में चिली के कोकिंबा क्षेत्र में स्थित एल्की घाटी की। यहीं पर है एल्की डोमोस जो दुनिया के कुल सात खगोलीय होटलों में से एक है और दक्षिणी गोलार्ध में अपनी किस्म का अकेला। इस होटल के कमरे आम कमरों जैसे नहीं बल्कि सात भूगणितीय गुंबद हैं। ये ऐसे इसलिए हैं ताकि आपको तारों भरी रात का सबसे शानदार नजारा मि...

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Chile’s night sky protectors seek legal defense for the stars

AWARA MUSAFIR BUREAU

September 26, 2020995 Views

On the open expanses of Chile’s high-altitude Atacama desert, bright stars pierce an ink-black firmament, a lure for stargazers looking for wonder and astronomers seeking signs of life on distant planets. Chile’s arid northern deserts have attracted massive investment in telescopes in recent years and the country is home to nearly half the world’s astronomical observatories. Parabolic antennas of the ALMA (Atacama Large Millimetre/Submillimeter Array) project are seen at the El Llano de Chajnantor in the Atacama desert, Antofagasta, Chile in a File Photo. ESO/Babak Tafreshi (twanight.org)/Handout via REUTERS Now, under threat from light pollution coming from urban sprawl and development, Chile’s environmental defenders are starting a fight to keep the skies dark, with legal muscl...