Climbing the Driest Place

Polly came in from the Pacific coast at Antofagasta, climbed steadily for an hour through dry coastal hills, and crossed into the Atacama Desert.

Polly kom ind fra Stillehavskysten ved Antofagasta, klatrede støt i en time gennem de tørre kystbakker og krydsede ind i Atacama-ørkenen.

There is no good description of the Atacama for someone who has not been there. It is the driest non-polar desert on Earth. Some weather stations in its core have never recorded a single drop of rain. Other stations have records reaching back four hundred years with rainfall measured in millimetres total, not per year. The desert is, by some definitions, one hundred and fifty million years old. That is older than the Andes themselves. Older than flowering plants. The atmosphere above it is so dry, so still, and so free of light pollution that more than half of the world's professional ground-based astronomy happens within four hundred kilometres of here.

Der findes ingen god beskrivelse af Atacama for dem, der ikke har været der. Det er den tørreste ikke-polære ørken på Jorden. Nogle vejrstationer i dens kerne har aldrig registreret en eneste dråbe regn. Andre stationer har optegnelser, der går fire hundrede år tilbage, med nedbør målt i millimeter i alt, ikke per år. Ørkenen er, ifølge nogle definitioner, hundrede og halvtreds millioner år gammel. Det er ældre end selve Andesbjergene. Ældre end blomstrende planter. Atmosfæren over den er så tør, så stille og så fri for lysforurening, at mere end halvdelen af verdens professionelle jordbaserede astronomi finder sted inden for fire hundrede kilometer herfra.

Polly climbed. The ground below her was the colour of cinnamon and rust. Salt flats appeared in the distance, blinding white. Volcanoes rose in the haze of the Andes to the east. The road, where it existed, was a thin black ribbon between empty hills.

Polly klatrede. Jorden under hende var farven af kanel og rust. Saltflader dukkede op i det fjerne, blændende hvide. Vulkaner rejste sig i disen af Andesbjergene mod øst. Vejen, hvor den eksisterede, var et tyndt sort bånd mellem tomme bakker.

Her destination was Cerro Paranal, a mountain about two thousand six hundred metres above sea level, capped by four enormous white domes. The European Southern Observatory had built the Very Large Telescope here in 1998. The four domes housed the four primary mirrors of the VLT, each eight point two metres across.

Hendes destination var Cerro Paranal, et bjerg omkring to tusind seks hundrede meter over havets overflade, kronet af fire enorme hvide kupler. Det Europæiske Sydobservatorium havde bygget det Meget Store Teleskop her i 1998. De fire kupler husede de fire primære spejle af VLT, hver otte komma to meter i diameter.

Polly came in low over the access road. A small minibus was climbing toward the summit complex, full of incoming astronomers and engineers starting their week-long observation runs. She followed the bus to the residencia, the low circular underground hotel where Paranal staff sleep.

Polly kom lavt ind over adgangsvejen. En lille minibus klatrede mod topkomplekset, fyldt med indkommende astronomer og ingeniører, der startede deres ugelange observationsløb. Hun fulgte bussen til residencen, det lave cirkulære underjordiske hotel, hvor Paranal-personalet sover.

The residencia, viewed from above, was buried in the side of the mountain. Only a small swimming pool, a circular reception, and the entry road were visible from the air. The pool had a glass roof. It existed because astronomers were not allowed outside during the day. The desert is hostile to skin. The pool was the way to be near water for one hour a day.

Residencen, set ovenfra, var begravet i bjergsiden. Kun en lille swimmingpool, en cirkulær reception og indkørslen var synlige fra luften. Poolen havde et glastag. Den eksisterede, fordi astronomer ikke måtte være udenfor om dagen. Ørkenen er fjendtlig mod huden. Poolen var måden at være nær vand en time om dagen.

Polly landed on the rim of the pool dome. A man in a long-sleeved sun shirt and dark glasses was climbing out of the pool. He noticed her, paused, and laughed quietly. "Are you with the cosmochemistry group?" he asked in Spanish-accented English. Polly tilted her red head. He shook his head, still smiling, and walked into the residencia.

Polly landede på kanten af poolkuplen. En mand i en langærmet solskjorte og mørke briller var ved at klatre op af poolen. Han bemærkede hende, standsede og lo stille. "Er du med kosmokemigruppen?" spurgte han på spansk-accenteret engelsk. Polly vippede sit røde hoved. Han rystede på hovedet, stadig smilende, og gik ind i residencen.

The sun was high. The shadow Polly cast on the white concrete was sharp enough to cut. The air was thin. She could feel it in her lungs.

Solen stod højt. Skyggen, Polly kastede på den hvide beton, var skarp nok til at skære. Luften var tynd. Hun kunne mærke det i sine lunger.

She perched in the shade of an overhang. From here, the four white domes of the VLT were visible on the summit above, closed against the day. They would open one by one after sunset. By that time, Polly intended to be on the catwalk of UT1, the unit telescope named Antu, which means "the Sun" in Mapudungun, the language of the Mapuche people of southern Chile.

Hun satte sig i skyggen af et udhæng. Herfra var de fire hvide kupler af VLT synlige på toppen ovenfor, lukkede mod dagen. De ville åbne én efter én efter solnedgang. På det tidspunkt havde Polly tænkt sig at være på gangbroen af UT1, enhedsteleskopet kaldet Antu, hvilket betyder "Solen" på Mapudungun, sproget hos Mapuche-folket i det sydlige Chile.

The other three telescopes were Kueyen (the Moon), Melipal (the Southern Cross), and Yepun (Venus, the evening star).

De andre tre teleskoper var Kueyen (Månen), Melipal (Sydkorset) og Yepun (Venus, aftenstjernen).

She waited for night.

Hun ventede på natten.