Society member Paul Costa went to the Atacama Desert in May this year, and our WhatsApp group was treated to some jaw-dropping photos that he was kind enough to share. He’ll talk to us about his trip.<\/p>\n
A bit of background : The Atacama Desert in northern Chile is often described as the driest non-polar desert on Earth. Some weather stations in its core region have gone years, and historically even decades, without recording measurable rainfall. The combination of dry air, high altitude, and clear skies makes it one of the best places on Earth for astronomy. Major facilities include ALMA Observatory and Paranal Observatory, home to some of the world’s most powerful telescopes. The Vera C Rubin observatory is located on the southern edge of the Atacama Desert region. Parts of the Atacama are so barren that they are used by space agencies to test instruments destined for Mars.<\/p>\n
There will also be a presentation on the sky at night for the coming month. If you would like further details then please contact Anita King.<\/p>","excerpt":"","slug":"stephen-fossey-tbc","image":false,"all_day":false,"start_date":"2026-09-11 20:00:00","start_date_details":{"year":"2026","month":"09","day":"11","hour":"20","minutes":"00","seconds":"00"},"end_date":"2026-09-11 22:00:00","end_date_details":{"year":"2026","month":"09","day":"11","hour":"22","minutes":"00","seconds":"00"},"utc_start_date":"2026-09-11 20:00:00","utc_start_date_details":{"year":"2026","month":"09","day":"11","hour":"20","minutes":"00","seconds":"00"},"utc_end_date":"2026-09-11 22:00:00","utc_end_date_details":{"year":"2026","month":"09","day":"11","hour":"22","minutes":"00","seconds":"00"},"timezone":"UTC+0","timezone_abbr":"UTC+0","cost":"","cost_details":{"currency_symbol":"","currency_position":"prefix","values":[]},"website":"","show_map":true,"show_map_link":true,"hide_from_listings":false,"sticky":false,"featured":false,"categories":[],"tags":[],"venue":{"id":63,"author":"1","status":"publish","date":"2019-10-15 19:14:51","date_utc":"2019-10-15 19:14:51","modified":"2024-02-08 09:02:21","modified_utc":"2024-02-08 09:02:21","url":"https:\/\/ewellastronomy.org\/?tribe_venue=nonsuch-high-school-for-girls","venue":"Nonsuch High School for Girls","description":"
Meeings are held in the School library on the 1st floor. Access is via the side entrance nearest the main road (down the ramp and through the door at the bottom). Take the stairs just in side the door to the 1st floor.<\/p>","slug":"nonsuch-high-school-for-girls","address":"Ewell Road, Sutton","city":"Cheam","country":"United Kingdom","province":"Surrey","zip":"SM3 8AB","stateprovince":"Surrey","json_ld":{"@type":"Place","name":"Nonsuch High School for Girls","description":"<p>Meeings are held in the School library on the 1st floor. Access is via the side entrance nearest the main road (down the ramp and through the door at the bottom). Take the stairs just in side the door to the 1st floor.<\/p>\\n","url":"","address":{"@type":"PostalAddress","streetAddress":"Ewell Road, Sutton","addressLocality":"Cheam","addressRegion":"Surrey","postalCode":"SM3 8AB","addressCountry":"United Kingdom"},"telephone":"","sameAs":""},"show_map":false,"show_map_link":true,"global_id":"ewellastronomy.org?id=63","global_id_lineage":["ewellastronomy.org?id=63"]},"organizer":[{"id":447,"author":"1","status":"publish","date":"2019-12-06 15:56:31","date_utc":"2019-12-06 15:56:31","modified":"2019-12-06 16:12:35","modified_utc":"2019-12-06 16:12:35","url":"https:\/\/ewellastronomy.org\/?tribe_organizer=anita-king","organizer":"Anita King","description":"
Society Chairman<\/p>","slug":"anita-king","email":"ewellastro@gmail.com","json_ld":{"@type":"Person","name":"Anita King","description":"<p>Society Chairman<\/p>\\n","url":"","telephone":"","email":"ewellastro@gmail.com","sameAs":""},"global_id":"ewellastronomy.org?id=447","global_id_lineage":["ewellastronomy.org?id=447"]}],"json_ld":{"@context":"http:\/\/schema.org","@type":"Event","name":"Paul Costa – An Atacama Astronomical Adventure","description":"<p>Society member Paul Costa went to the Atacama Desert in May this year, and our WhatsApp group was treated to some jaw-dropping photos that he was kind enough to share. He\\'ll talk to us about his trip. A bit of background : The Atacama Desert in northern Chile is often described as the driest non-polar […]<\/p>\\n","url":"https:\/\/ewellastronomy.org\/?tribe_events=stephen-fossey-tbc","startDate":"2026-09-11T20:00:00+00:00","endDate":"2026-09-11T22:00:00+00:00","location":{"@type":"Place","name":"Nonsuch High School for Girls","description":"<p>Meeings are held in the School library on the 1st floor. Access is via the side entrance nearest the main road (down the ramp and through the door at the bottom). Take the stairs just in side the door to the 1st floor.<\/p>\\n","url":"","address":{"@type":"PostalAddress","streetAddress":"Ewell Road, Sutton","addressLocality":"Cheam","addressRegion":"Surrey","postalCode":"SM3 8AB","addressCountry":"United Kingdom"},"telephone":"","sameAs":""},"organizer":{"@type":"Person","name":"Anita King","description":"<p>Society Chairman<\/p>\\n","url":"","telephone":"","email":"ewellastro@gmail.com","sameAs":""},"performer":"Organization"}}