Hacienda Los Andes: A new astrophotography destination

Does the southern hemisphere
have the nicest objects?
 46 out of 107 Messier objects
 58 out of 109 Caldwell objects
 152 out of 152 Bennett Catalog objects
 Center of the Milky Way
 Magellanic Clouds
 Three best globular clusters
Tarantula
SMC & NGC 104
NGC 1313
OmegaCen
My 12 year long quest for....
The Perfect Site
Where ? Requirements
Location,
location,
location !
Where ? Requirements
 Clear nights / year
 Sky darkness & light pollution
 Transparency -> high up
 Seeing -> laminar air flow
 Access -> road, regulations, ...
 Connectivity, technology
 Security
 Comfort
Antilhue site
Frisco 1
Frisco 2
M 80
Antennae
Thor’s Helmet
Omega Astrotent
Traveler Astrotent
Tololo Condor
Astrofarm
CTIO
PROMPT 2
M104
Chile Skies
Chile can be considered the astronomy
capital of the world.
Currently it is home of at least 42% of the
world's astronomy infrastructure of
telescopes, and by 2018 it will contain 70%
of all the global infrastructure!!
Especially in the north region, the skies are
exceptionally clear and dry for more than
300 days a year.
The sites
of more interest to visit for
astronomers, go all the way from
Santiago (the capital)
to Antofagasta in the north.
Hacienda Los Andes
Astro-Tourism in Chile
 It all started in the 1980s, when a mass of excited tourists, arrived to
the forgotten Elqui valley in the Andes Mountains, to observe
Halley's Comet once in every 76 years visit.
 Since then, everyone started talking about this picturesque place of
pristine beauty.
 The magnetic atmosphere of this valley, together with the presence of
world class astronomical installations, made the tourist observatories
grow in the area
OK, but, what about astrophotography….??
 Being an astrophotographer is not an easy task in
our country.
 On the one hand, the hardware and software
providers are overseas, meaning higher costs.
 The great cities are growing and in the same
scale, the light pollution 
 On the other hand, the tourist observatories are
not conceived for astrophotography. So, where to
put (and leave) all your valuable equipment under
a dark and world class sky…?
Light Pollution Growing….
Although I live in the suburb, light pollution prevents the practice of
astrophotography
Rural site in Elqui Valley
Nice place,
but will my equipment be safe ?
Imaging at La Silla Observatory
A paradise for AP, but difficult access.
Imaging at Paranal Observatory
… even more difficult …
The solution to all my worries!!!
A beautiful place with everything you need : pristine dark skies, comfort
and security for your equipment
Inside the roll off roof
AP1200 mount, TEC 200 f/8 refractor, Coronado PST
Inside the Astro Haven clamshell
RCOS RC 14,5” telescope mounted on AP1200, RCOS Rotator
and SBIG STL11K camera.
Clamshell and the Milky Way
Preparing for flats…
BTW, we do have chairs….
Waiting for the night
Always a good instance to meet fellow astrophotographers
Starfire 140mm f/7.5
Modified Canon T3i
STL11K
AP 900GTO
Ready for Imaging!!
SOUTHERN JEWELS
Southern Winter Milky Way
NGC 6231
Wide Field
Great Nebula in Carina, Ha
Carina Nebula,
LRGB
M83 Galaxy
Fornax Cluster
Cat’s Paw
LMC Mosaic
The Witch Head
Nebula
Part of the Vela SNR
HACIENDA’S LANDSCAPE AT NIGHT
Gates to the Heavens
© Yuri Beletsky
The Hunter and the Palms
© Yuri Beletsky
We hope to see you imaging at the Hacienda Los Andes !
Where ?
 Río Hurtado in Chile’s IV Región
 500 km by car, north of Santiago.
 120-150 km from La Serena
 48 km south of Elqui Valley (Vicuña)
 17 km SE of Gemini South / SOAR
 Altitude 1.100 m
What do we offer ?









Premium equipment under world class skies
Multilangual staff (German, English, Spanish)
Comfort lodging
Fine food
Astro-friendly hours
Horseback riding
Trekking - Solar System trail
Camping
Tours
Condor Trail
Great Adventure Trail
Great Adventure Trail
When ?
 When to visit
 Planning your stay
 Other things to do
Desierto florido
How ? Getting there
 Flight to La Serena... or Santiago
 Car rental or Transfer (shuttle)
 Intercontinental flight time: 11 hours
 Only 4 hours time difference with
Europe during chilean summer
Our Hacienda Team
Entrance
Stables
Rooms
Patio
Patio
Fixed Equipment list
Roll-off with TEC APO200FL and
Coronado PST on AP1200GTO
AstroHaven with RCOS 14.5” f/9 and AP
Traveler on AP1200GTO
ALT-5 for visitor’s OTA
Roll-off & Dome
RCOS & Traveler
RCOS + STL11K
ALT-5 and shelter
Mobile Equipment List
 Intes Micro 10” f/5.5 Maksutov Newton
 Lichtenknecker 300mm f/3.2 FFC
 AP155EDFS
 AP130EDF f/8.3
 TEC APO110FL
 AP Mach1GTO on AP EAGLE tripod
 Teleport 10” and Portaball 12.5” Dobson
 AP 12 x 70 binoculars
Coming this year.....
AP 175 EDF f/8
AP1200GTO
TEC 500RC
AP1600GTO
Two “cabriolet” domes
....more....
Overview
Astrophotographers
Rho Oph
LMC
Comets Lemmon and PANSTARRS
Yuri Beletsky
Thanks
and see
you
soon !
NGC 6744
www.haciendalosandes.com
[email protected]