Lezenie na najsuchšie miesto

Polly prišla z pacifického pobrežia v Antofagaste, stúpala neúnavne hodinu cez suché pobrežné kopce a prešla do púšte Atacama.

Polly came in from the Pacific coast at Antofagasta, climbed steadily for an hour through dry coastal hills, and crossed into the Atacama Desert.

Pre niekoho, kto tam nikdy nebol, je ťažké opísať Atacamu. Je to najsuchšia nepólová púšť na Zemi. Niektoré meteorologické stanice v jej jadre nikdy nezaznamenali ani kvapku dažďa. Iné stanice majú záznamy staré štyristo rokov, pričom zrážky sa merajú v milimetroch celkovo, nie ročne. Púšť je podľa niektorých definícií stará stopäťdesiat miliónov rokov. To je staršie ako samotné Andy. Staršie ako kvitnúce rastliny. Atmosféra nad ňou je taká suchá, taká pokojná a taká bez svetelného znečistenia, že viac ako polovica svetovej profesionálnej pozemnej astronómie sa odohráva do štyristo kilometrov odtiaľto.

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. Other stations have records reaching back four hundred years with rainfall measured in millimetres total, not per year. The desert is, by some definitions, one hundred and fifty million years old. That is older than the Andes themselves. Older than flowering plants. The atmosphere 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 stúpala. Zem pod ňou mala farbu škorice a hrdze. V diaľke sa objavili soľné pláne, oslepujúco biele. Sopky sa týčili v oparu Ánd na východe. Cesta, kde vôbec existovala, bola tenká čierna stuha medzi prázdnymi kopcami.

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. The road, where it existed, was a thin black ribbon between empty hills.

Jej cieľom bol Cerro Paranal, hora asi dvetisíc šesťsto metrov nad morom, korunovaná štyrmi obrovskými bielymi kupolami. Európske južné observatórium tu v roku 1998 postavilo Veľmi veľký teleskop. Štyri kupoly ukrývali štyri hlavné zrkadlá VLT, každé s priemerom osem celých dva metre.

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 housed the four primary mirrors of the VLT, each eight point two metres across.

Polly prišla nízko nad prístupovou cestou. Malý minibus stúpal k vrcholovému komplexu, plný prichádzajúcich astronómov a inžinierov začínajúcich svoje týždenné pozorovacie cykly. Sledovala autobus k rezidencii, nízkemu kruhovému podzemnému hotelu, kde spia zamestnanci Paranalu.

Polly came in low over the access road. A small minibus was climbing toward the summit complex, full of incoming astronomers and engineers starting their week-long observation runs. She followed the bus to the residencia, the low circular underground hotel where Paranal staff sleep.

Rezidencia, zhora viditeľná, bola zakopaná v boku hory. Zhora bolo vidieť len malý bazén, kruhovú recepciu a prístupovú cestu. Bazén mal sklenenú strechu. Existoval preto, že astronómovia nesmeli cez deň vychádzať von. Púšť je nepriateľská k pokožke. Bazén bol spôsob, ako byť blízko vody na jednu hodinu denne.

The residencia, viewed from above, was buried in the side of the mountain. Only a small swimming pool, a circular reception, and the entry road were visible from the air. The pool had a glass roof. It existed because 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.

Polly pristála na okraji kupoly bazéna. Muž v dlhom rukáve a tmavých okuliaroch práve vyliezal z vody. Všimol si ju, zastal a ticho sa zasmial. "Ste s kozmochemickou skupinou?" spýtal sa po španielsky zafarbenou angličtinou. Polly naklonila svoju červenú hlavu. On pokrútil hlavou, stále sa usmieval, a vošiel do rezidencie.

Polly landed on the rim of the pool dome. A man in a long-sleeved sun shirt and dark glasses was climbing out of the pool. He noticed her, paused, and laughed quietly. "Are you with the cosmochemistry group?" he asked in Spanish-accented English. Polly tilted her red head. He shook his head, still smiling, and walked into the residencia.

Slnko bolo vysoko. Tieň, ktorý Polly vrhala na biely betón, bol ostrý ako britva. Vzduch bol riedky. Cítila to v pľúcach.

The sun was high. The shadow Polly cast on the white concrete was sharp enough to cut. The air was thin. She could feel it in her lungs.

Usadila sa v tieni previsu. Odtiaľto boli viditeľné štyri biele kupoly VLT na vrchole nad ňou, zatvorené proti dňu. Otvoria sa jedna po druhej po západe slnka. Do tej doby mala Polly v úmysle byť na lávke UT1, jednotkového teleskopu nazvaného Antu, čo v jazyku Mapudungun, jazyku Mapučov z južného Čile, znamená "Slnko".

She perched in the shade of an overhang. 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. By that time, Polly intended to be on the catwalk of UT1, the unit telescope named Antu, which means "the Sun" in Mapudungun, the language of the Mapuche people of southern Chile.

Ostatné tri teleskopy boli Kueyen (Mesiac), Melipal (Južný kríž) a Yepun (Venuša, večerná hviezda).

The other three telescopes were Kueyen (the Moon), Melipal (the Southern Cross), and Yepun (Venus, the evening star).

Čakala na noc.

She waited for night.