Experiencing strong
winds in front of the
Gemini South dome.
From left to right:
student Andressa
Silva Ferreira, Prof.
Jorge Meléndez,
students Fernando
de Sousa Mello,
Nathália Cibirka,
Marcelo Tucci Maia,
Ana Maria Molina,
Miguel Paez,
Patricia Martins de
Novais, and Viviane
Salvador Alves.
Photo by Manuel
Paredes.
With this trip, some
thoughts have arisen
and will stay on my mind
for a long time. One was
an experience on the
mountains on La Silla
where we took a long hike
to search for petroglyphs
(which we did find!). Days
before this, we saw the
8-meter Gemini telescope,
which was a colossal
technological contrast
against the petroglyphs.
Millions of thoughts and
emotions went through
my mind when I looked
at those stones, carved by
men thousands of years
ago. Those ancient men
looked at the same sky and spent the night under the same darkness, asking themselves perhaps
some basic questions, as we still do today — with the difference being that now we have 8-meter
eyes to fuel our thoughts! Indeed, we certainly live in a very thrilling era!
Nathália Cibirka: So many doubts and emotions run through our minds in this stage of life; after
long years attending lectures in college, attending graduate lectures could sometimes be torturous!
We want to work on our theses, to finally boost our flight! This is when some insightful persons
who can see what lies beyond can take bold initiatives that can change our expectations as young
astronomers. Professor Meléndez is one such person. He gave us that much needed encouragement,
and prepared us for a profession that requires strong theoretical and observational backgrounds.
The experience gained during this trip goes well beyond knowledge of astronomical
instrumentation, which was indeed very enriching. For me, emotions were greatest when we got to
see the telescopes that are used in our work up close (the data for my thesis came from here, I can´t
believe it!). To understand the overall process, from knowing the telescopes and their instruments,
to the climate conditions necessary to operate them, to the point when the data are taken and the
data reduction is performed, made my vision grow by so many orders of ma