Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory Informs

(5 March 2020)

Credit: H. Stockebrand

NSF's OIR Lab is monitoring the development of COVID-19. To ensure the safety of its staff and the public, it has been decided as a precautionary measure to suspend public visits to Cerro Tololo and Cerro Pachón in Chile until further notice.

Please check our website regularly as any new changes will be communicated on this page. If you have questions please contact us through email ctio@ctio.noao.edu

Access to the Recinto:

Anyone requiring access to the recinto will require a completed affidavit. This includes residents. Instructions on the affidavit procedure are included below.

From 9:00pm on Monday 23 March the upper entrance to the recinto, from Britan, will be closed.

Access to Work Buildings:

Until 9:00pm on Monday 23 March you may make a short visit to collect anything you need for an extended period of working at home. You must coordinate this with your program/service management.

After 9:00pm on Monday 23 March only those with my authorization may enter AURA buildings. Access will be authorized only in circumstances described in Saturday’s memo from Pat and I. You should submit a request for authorization via your supervisor. Your request should include:

  • Why you need access
  • When you want access
  • When you will leave
  • What building and what part of the building you will visit
  • If granted access, upon exit, you must inform your supervisor you have left, for safety purposes

You should wait to receive approval before attempting to access the buildings. This process may take a business day.

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NSF's OIR Lab está monitoreando el desarrollo del COVID-19. Para garantizar la seguridad de su personal y del público, se ha decidido tomar la medida precautoria de suspender las visitas públicas a los Observatorios de Cerro Tololo y Cerro Pachón en Chile hasta nuevo aviso.

Favor visitar nuestro sitio web regularmente ya que cualquier cambio se comunicará en esta página.  Si tiene consultas, favor contactarnos al correo electrónico ctio@ctio.noao.edu

Acceso al Recinto:

Cualquier persona que requiera acceso al Recinto requerirá llenar una declaración jurada. Esto incluye a los residentes. Las instrucciones sobre el procedimiento de declaración jurada son las siguientes:

A partir de las 9:00 pm del lunes 23 de marzo, la entrada superior del recinto, desde la calle Bitran, permanecerá cerrada.

Acceso a edificios de trabajo:

Hasta las 9:00 pm del lunes 23 de marzo, usted podrá efectuar una breve visita para recoger todo lo que necesite para un período prolongado de trabajo desde su casa. Deberá coordinar esto con la dirección de su programa/unidad.

Después de las 9:00 pm del lunes 23 de marzo, solo podrán ingresar a los edificios de AURA quienes cuenten con mi autorización. El acceso se autorizará solo en las circunstancias descritas en la nota enviada el sábado por Pat McCarthy y yo, para lo cual deberá enviar una solicitud de autorización por medio de su supervisor. Su solicitud deberá incluir:

-              ¿Por qué necesita el acceso?

-              Cuándo quiere ingresar

-              Cuándo se retirará

-              Cuál instalación y qué parte de ésta visitará

-              Al salir y por motivos de seguridad, deberá informar al supervisor que se ha retirado

Deberá esperar recibir la aprobación antes de intentar ingresar a los edificios. Este proceso puede tomar un día hábil.

 

The Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO) is a complex of astronomical telescopes and instruments located at 30.169 S, 70.804 W, approximately 80 km to the East of La Serena, Chile, at an altitude of 2200 meters.  CTIO headquarters are located in La Serena, Chile, about 300 miles north of Santiago.

The CTIO complex is part of the U.S. National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO), along with the Kitt Peak National Observatory (KPNO) in Tucson, Arizona.  NOAO is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA) under cooperative agreement with the National Science Foundation (NSF).  CTIO, as part of the AURA Observatory in Chile, operates in Chile under Chilean law, through an Agreement with the University of Chile and with the auspices of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Chile.

The principal telescopes on site are the 4-m Victor M. Blanco Telescope and the 4.1-m Southern Astrophysical Research (SOAR) telescope.  One of the two 8-m telescopes comprising the Gemini Observatory is co-located with CTIO on AURA property in Chile, together with more than 10 other telescopes and astronomical projects.