Kupanda Mahali Pakavu Zaidi

Polly alifika kutoka pwani ya Pasifiki huko Antofagasta, akapanda kwa utulivu kwa saa moja kupitia vilima vya pwani kavu, na kuvuka kuingia Jangwa la 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.

Hakuna maelezo mazuri ya Atacama kwa mtu ambaye hajawahi kuwa huko. Ni jangwa kavu zaidi lisilo la polar duniani. Baadhi ya vituo vya hali ya hewa katika kiini chake havijawahi kurekodi hata tone moja la mvua. Vituo vingine vina rekodi zinazofikia miaka mia nne na mvua inapimwa kwa milimita jumla, si kwa mwaka. Jangwa hili, kwa baadhi ya tafsiri, lina umri wa miaka milioni mia moja na hamsini. Hilo ni kongwe kuliko Andes wenyewe. Kongwe kuliko mimea inayochanua. Anga juu yake ni kavu sana, tulivu sana, na haina uchafuzi wa mwanga kiasi kwamba zaidi ya nusu ya unajimu wa kitaalamu unaofanyika ardhini hufanyika ndani ya kilomita mia nne kutoka hapa.

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 alipanda. Ardhi chini yake ilikuwa na rangi ya mdalasini na kutu. Mabonde ya chumvi yalionekana mbali, meupe yanayopofusha. Milima ya volkeno ilionekana katika ukungu wa Andes kuelekea mashariki. Barabara, pale ilipokuwepo, ilikuwa kama utepe mwembamba mweusi kati ya vilima vitupu.

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.

Lengo lake lilikuwa Cerro Paranal, mlima wenye urefu wa mita elfu mbili na mia sita juu ya usawa wa bahari, wenye ncha nne kubwa nyeupe. Shirika la Ulaya la Uchunguzi wa Anga ya Kusini lilijenga Darubini Kubwa Sana hapa mwaka wa 1998. Ncha nne zilikuwa na vioo vikuu vinne vya VLT, kila kimoja kikiwa na kipenyo cha mita nane nukta mbili.

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 alifika chini juu ya barabara ya kuingia. Basi dogo lilikuwa linapanda kuelekea kwenye kituo cha kilele, likiwa limejaa wanaastronomia na wahandisi wanaoanza mizunguko yao ya uchunguzi wa wiki moja. Alifuata basi hadi residencia, hoteli ya chini ya ardhi yenye umbo la duara ambapo wafanyakazi wa Paranal hulala.

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.

Residencia, ikitazamwa kutoka juu, ilikuwa imezikwa upande wa mlima. Ni bwawa dogo la kuogelea, mapokezi ya duara, na barabara ya kuingia tu vilivyoonekana kutoka angani. Bwawa hilo lilikuwa na paa la kioo. Lilikuwapo kwa sababu wanaastronomia hawakuruhusiwa kutoka nje wakati wa mchana. Jangwa ni hatari kwa ngozi. Bwawa lilikuwa njia ya kuwa karibu na maji kwa saa moja kwa siku.

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 alitua kwenye ukingo wa paa la bwawa. Mwanaume aliyevaa shati la mikono mirefu na miwani ya giza alikuwa anatoka kwenye bwawa. Alimwona, akasita, na kucheka kimya kimya. "Je, uko na kikundi cha kosmokemia?" aliuliza kwa Kiingereza chenye lafudhi ya Kihispania. Polly alitikisa kichwa chake chekundu. Alitikisa kichwa, bado akitabasamu, na akaingia ndani ya residencia.

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.

Jua lilikuwa juu. Kivuli ambacho Polly alitupa kwenye saruji nyeupe kilikuwa kikali kiasi cha kukata. Hewa ilikuwa nyembamba. Alihisi kwenye mapafu yake.

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.

Alikaa kwenye kivuli cha mwamba. Kutoka hapa, ncha nne nyeupe za VLT zilikuwa zinaonekana kwenye kilele juu, zimefungwa dhidi ya mchana. Zingefunguka moja baada ya nyingine baada ya jua kutua. Kufikia wakati huo, Polly alikusudia kuwa kwenye njia ya UT1, darubini ya kitengo inayoitwa Antu, ambayo ina maana ya "Jua" katika lugha ya Mapudungun, lugha ya watu wa Mapuche wa kusini mwa Chile.

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.

Darubini zingine tatu zilikuwa Kueyen (Mwezi), Melipal (Msalaba wa Kusini), na Yepun (Venus, nyota ya jioni).

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

Alisubiri usiku.

She waited for night.