Klatring i det Tørreste Stedet

Polly kom inn fra Stillehavskysten ved Antofagasta og krysset inn i Atacama-ørkenen.

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

Det finnes ingen god beskrivelse av Atacama for noen som ikke har vært der. Det er den tørreste ikke-polare ørkenen på jorden. Noen værstasjoner i kjernen har aldri registrert en eneste regndråpe. Ørkenen er, etter noen definisjoner, hundre og femti millioner år gammel. Eldre enn Andesfjellene selv. Eldre enn blomstrende planter.

There is no good description of the Atacama for someone who has not been there. It is the driest non-polar desert on Earth. Some weather stations in its core have never recorded a single drop of rain. The desert is, by some definitions, one hundred and fifty million years old. Older than the Andes themselves. Older than flowering plants.

Luften over den er så tørr, så stille, og så fri for lysforurensning at mer enn halvparten av verdens profesjonelle bakkebaserte astronomi skjer innen fire hundre kilometer herfra.

The air above it is so dry, so still, and so free of light pollution that more than half of the world's professional ground-based astronomy happens within four hundred kilometres of here.

Polly klatret. Bakken under henne var fargen av kanel og rust. Saltflater dukket opp i det fjerne, blendende hvite. Vulkaner steg opp i disen av Andesfjellene i øst.

Polly climbed. The ground below her was the colour of cinnamon and rust. Salt flats appeared in the distance, blinding white. Volcanoes rose in the haze of the Andes to the east.

Hennes destinasjon var Cerro Paranal, et fjell omtrent to tusen seks hundre meter over havet, kronet av fire enorme hvite kupler. Det europeiske sørobservatoriet hadde bygget det Veldig Store Teleskopet her i 1998. De fire kuplene huser de fire primærspeilene til VLT, hver åtte komma to meter i diameter.

Her destination was Cerro Paranal, a mountain about two thousand six hundred metres above sea level, capped by four enormous white domes. The European Southern Observatory had built the Very Large Telescope here in 1998. The four domes house the four primary mirrors of the VLT, each eight point two metres across.

Polly fulgte en minibuss opp tilkomstveien til residensen, det underjordiske hotellet hvor personalet sover. Residensen var gravd inn i fjellsiden. Bare et lite svømmebasseng med glasstak var synlig fra luften. Astronomer fikk ikke lov til å være ute på dagen. Ørkenen er fiendtlig mot huden. Bassenget var måten å være nær vann en time om dagen.

Polly followed a minibus up the access road to the residencia, the underground hotel where staff sleep. The residencia was buried in the side of the mountain. Only a small swimming pool with a glass roof was visible from the air. Astronomers were not allowed outside during the day. The desert is hostile to skin. The pool was the way to be near water for one hour a day.

En mann i en langermet solskjorte klatret ut av bassenget. Han så Polly. "Er du med kosmokjemigruppen?" spurte han på spansk-aksentert engelsk. Polly vippet hodet. Han smilte og gikk inn i residensen.

A man in a long-sleeved sun shirt was climbing out of the pool. He saw Polly. "Are you with the cosmochemistry group?" he asked in Spanish-accented English. Polly tilted her head. He smiled and walked into the residencia.

Solen sto høyt. Pollys skygge på den hvite betongen var skarp nok til å skjære. Luften var tynn.

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

Hun satte seg i skyggen. Herfra var de fire hvite kuplene til VLT synlige på toppen over, lukket mot dagen. De ville åpne seg én etter én etter solnedgang.

She perched in the shade. From here, the four white domes of the VLT were visible on the summit above, closed against the day. They would open one by one after sunset.

Hun ventet på natten.

She waited for night.