Climbing the Driest Place

Polly came in from the Pacific coast at Antofagasta and crossed into the Atacama Desert.

Polly kom ind fra Stillehavskysten ved Antofagasta 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. The desert is, by some definitions, one hundred and fifty million years old. Older than the Andes themselves. Older than flowering plants.

Der findes ingen god beskrivelse af Atacama for dem, der ikke har været der. Det er den tørreste ikke-polare ørken på Jorden. Nogle vejrstationer i dens kerne har aldrig registreret en eneste regndråbe. Ørkenen er, ifølge nogle definitioner, hundrede og halvtreds millioner år gammel. Ældre end Andesbjergene selv. Ældre end blomstrende planter.

The air 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.

Luften over den er så tør, så stille og så fri for lysforurening, at mere end halvdelen af verdens professionelle jordbaserede astronomi sker 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.

Polly klatrede. Jorden under hende var farven af kanel og rust. Saltflader dukkede op i det fjerne, blændende hvide. Vulkaner rejste sig i Andesbjergenes dis mod øst.

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 house 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, toppet af fire enorme hvide kupler. Det Europæiske Sydobservatorium havde bygget det Meget Store Teleskop her i 1998. De fire kupler huser de fire primære spejle af VLT, hver otte komma to meter i diameter.

Polly followed a minibus up the access road to the residencia, the underground hotel where staff sleep. The residencia was buried in the side of the mountain. Only a small swimming pool with a glass roof was visible from the air. 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.

Polly fulgte en minibus op ad adgangsvejen til residenciaen, det underjordiske hotel, hvor personalet sover. Residenciaen var begravet i bjergsiden. Kun en lille swimmingpool med et glastag var synlig fra luften. Astronomerne måtte ikke være udenfor i løbet af dagen. Ørkenen er fjendtlig mod huden. Poolen var måden at være nær vand en time om dagen.

A man in a long-sleeved sun shirt was climbing out of the pool. He saw Polly. "Are you with the cosmochemistry group?" he asked in Spanish-accented English. Polly tilted her head. He smiled and walked into the residencia.

En mand i en langærmet soltrøje var ved at klatre op af poolen. Han så Polly. "Er du med kosmokemigruppen?" spurgte han på spansk-accenteret engelsk. Polly vippede hovedet. Han smilede og gik ind i residenciaen.

The sun was high. Polly's shadow on the white concrete was sharp enough to cut. The air was thin.

Solen stod højt. Pollys skygge på det hvide beton var skarp nok til at skære. Luften var tynd.

She perched in the shade. 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.

Hun satte sig i skyggen. Herfra var de fire hvide kupler af VLT synlige på toppen ovenfor, lukket mod dagen. De ville åbne en efter en efter solnedgang.

She waited for night.

Hun ventede på natten.