Climbing the Driest Place

Polly came from the Pacific coast at Antofagasta. She crossed into the Atacama Desert.

Polly kom fra Stillehavskysten ved Antofagasta. Hun krydsede ind i Atacama-ørkenen.

The Atacama is the driest place on Earth that is not at the poles. Some stations there have never recorded rain. The desert is 150 million years old. Older than the Andes mountains themselves.

Atacama er det tørreste sted på Jorden, der ikke ligger ved polerne. Nogle målestationer her har aldrig registreret regn. Ørkenen er 150 millioner år gammel. Ældre end selve Andesbjergene.

The air above it is very dry and very dark. More than half of the world's big telescopes are within 400 kilometres of here.

Luften over den er meget tør og meget mørk. Mere end halvdelen af verdens store teleskoper er inden for 400 kilometer herfra.

Polly climbed. The ground was the colour of cinnamon and rust. Salt flats were white in the distance. Volcanoes rose to the east.

Polly klatrede. Jorden var kanel- og rustfarvet. Saltfladerne var hvide i det fjerne. Vulkaner rejste sig mod øst.

Her destination was Cerro Paranal, a mountain 2,600 metres high. Four big white domes were on top. The European Southern Observatory built the Very Large Telescope here in 1998. Each mirror is 8.2 metres across.

Hendes destination var Cerro Paranal, et bjerg 2.600 meter højt. Fire store hvide kupler var på toppen. Det Europæiske Sydobservatorium byggede det Meget Store Teleskop her i 1998. Hver spejl er 8,2 meter i diameter.

Polly followed a small bus up the road. The bus went to the residencia, where the staff sleep. The residencia is built into the mountain. There is a small swimming pool with a glass roof on top.

Polly fulgte en lille bus op ad vejen. Bussen kørte til residencen, hvor personalet sover. Residencen er bygget ind i bjerget. Der er en lille swimmingpool med et glastag ovenpå.

Astronomers are not allowed outside during the day. The desert sun is too strong. The pool is the one place they can be near water.

Astronomer må ikke være udenfor om dagen. Ørkenens sol er for stærk. Poolen er det ene sted, de kan være tæt på vand.

A man was climbing out of the pool. He saw Polly. "Are you with the science group?" he asked. Polly tilted her head. He smiled and walked inside.

En mand var ved at klatre op af poolen. Han så Polly. "Er du med videnskabsgruppen?" spurgte han. Polly vippede hovedet. Han smilede og gik ind.

The sun was high. Polly's shadow was sharp on the white concrete. The air was thin.

Solen stod højt. Pollys skygge var skarp på den hvide beton. Luften var tynd.

She perched in the shade. She waited for night.

Hun satte sig i skyggen. Hun ventede på natten.