Modern observatories

Modern observatories are located in certain regions of the world, some are orbiting planet Earth and some are even further away, elsewhere in our solar system.

Many people will wonder why observatories are situated in such remote locations, for example on the top of the Andes mountains. The answers to this and many other questions are explored in the 'modern observatories' project. The activity will introduce the workings of a telescope, our atmosphere and the effect it has. We will also consider the social and political influence astronomy has in other countries around the world.

This project will look at how countries united under the banner of the European Southern Observatories (ESO), and other countries including the USA and Chile, have dealt with political changes; for example Chile's move from democracy to the dictatorship of Pinochet and its subsequent return to democracy.