The core team has loaded up for our trip to Chile to start the 2026B observing run! The travel started bright and early with a 6 a.m. departure from Tucson to Atlanta. We had a 9-hour layover in Atlanta so a few of us decided to take the MARTA into the city.
One of the stops we made was the Georgia State Capitol building (where we saw the replica Statue of Liberty) and we appreciated the architecture, statues, and the displays of Georgian culture and history.
Unfortunately, the fun started diminishing after we arrived to Santiago. The leg from Santiago to La Serena ended in an unintentional (temporary) loss of PI…
Dr. Males had an adventure traveling through the bowels of SCL to assure customs that his gear was safe for air travel, but during this escapade the airline decided there would be a man left behind, and we had to abandon our brave PI continuing on our own.
The rest of us carried on with the trip to Las Campanas and got to appreciate the lush altiplano fed from winter storms caused by the current El Niño system.
To finish off our travel up we witnessed an incredible traffic jam between a bus, 3 cars, and a ragtag crew of horses and donkeys
Song of the Day
The rule for this run’s Song of the Day is that each song must be about a creature of some kind.