First Blast on LSST site

“First Blast”, detonated on the El Peñón summit March 8th at 8:56:00 (MST) in preparation for the LSST, was a spectacular event as documented in the images from Francisco Delgado (CTIO).

The blast broke up ~320 cubic meters of material, which must ultimately be removed to provide the platform for LSST. There are roughly 55 more blasts of similar size necessary to remove the remaining material on the main summit, calibration hill and for road work. This effort will continue for the next 4 months.