{"id":3509,"date":"2026-10-09T11:16:37","date_gmt":"2026-10-09T18:16:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rfo.org\/?page_id=3509"},"modified":"2026-10-09T11:27:10","modified_gmt":"2026-10-09T18:27:10","slug":"chile-and-the-skies-of-the-southern-hemisphere","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/rfo.org\/index.php\/donate\/chile-and-the-skies-of-the-southern-hemisphere\/","title":{"rendered":"Chile and the Skies of the Southern Hemisphere"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Join us in Chile in 2027! Home to some of the clearest, darkest skies on the planet and many of the world’s most advanced astronomical observatories, Chile has become the epicenter of modern astronomy. We invite you to join the Robert Ferguson Observatory on what promises to be a magical astronomy adventure \u2014a remarkable journey led by one of the world’s most celebrated astronomers,\u00a0Dr. Alex Filippenko. Traveling alongside Alex offers a rare opportunity to gain firsthand insight into the discoveries reshaping our understanding of the universe while visiting the very observatories where many of those discoveries are made.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This unforgettable expedition combines world-class astronomy with Chile’s spectacular landscapes and culture. We’ll visit world renowned observatories including Gemini South, SOAR, Vera C. Rubin Observatory, Las Campanas Observatory, the Giant Magellan Telescope construction site, and Paranal Observatory, home of the Very Large Telescope. Along the way, we’ll experience exceptional Southern Hemisphere stargazing, explore the Atacama Desert and Moon Valley, discover ancient meteorites, and enjoy Chile’s celebrated wine country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whether you’re an experienced observer, an aspiring astrophotographer, or simply fascinated by the night sky, this journey offers an extraordinary opportunity to see the Southern Cross, the Magellanic Clouds, and countless celestial wonders while traveling with fellow astronomy enthusiasts!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Space is limited, early reservations are encouraged. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Date:<\/strong> September 22, 2027 – October 4, 2027<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For full itinerary:<\/strong> Detailed Brochure<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trip status:<\/strong> Accepting Reservations HERE<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Price from:<\/strong> From $8,995 per person<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arrangements:<\/strong> Royal Adventures<\/p>\n\n\n\n

About the Study Leader: <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alex Filippenko, DISTINGUISHED PROFESSOR OF ASTRONOMY, CLASS OF 1954 CHAIR,
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Alex Filippenko, an elected member of both the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, is one of the world\u2019s most highly cited astrophysicists. He studies exploding stars, black holes, galaxies, and observational cosmology. His scientific accomplishments, documented in over 1,200 research papers, have been recognized with numerous prizes, most recently the prestigious Gruber Cosmology Prize (2026, just three recipients). He was the only person to have been a member of both teams that revealed the accelerating expansion of the Universe, a discovery that was honored with the 2011 Nobel Prize in Physics to the teams\u2019 leaders, as well as the 2007 Gruber Cosmology Prize and the 2015 Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics to all team members. He is a frequent user of the Hubble Space Telescope and the James Webb Space Telescope, and telescopes at both Lick and Keck Observatories. Early in his career, he also used telescopes in Chile, specifically at the Las Campanas Observatory and the Cerro-Tololo InterAmerican Observatory. Winner of the highest teaching awards at UC Berkeley and voted by students the \u201cBest Professor\u201d on campus a record 9 times, in 2006 he was named the Case\/Carnegie National Professor of the Year among doctoral institutions, and in 2022 he received the American Astronomical Society\u2019s Education Prize. He has produced 5 astronomy video courses with The Great Courses, coauthored an award-winning astronomy textbook, and appears in more than 120 television documentaries. He has given about 1,600 public presentations, and he was awarded the 2004 Carl Sagan Prize for Science Popularization; most recently (2026), he received the Astronomical Society of the Pacific\u2019s Klumpke-Roberts Award for outstanding contributions to the public understanding and appreciation of astronomy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Download the Full Brochure<\/a> for all the details, itinerary, and more information!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Join us in Chile in 2027! Home to some of the clearest, darkest skies on the planet and many of the world’s most advanced astronomical observatories, Chile has become the epicenter of modern astronomy. We invite you to join the Robert Ferguson Observatory on what promises to be a magical astronomy adventure \u2014a remarkable journey … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"parent":481,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-3509","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rfo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3509","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rfo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rfo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rfo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rfo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3509"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/rfo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3509\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3521,"href":"https:\/\/rfo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3509\/revisions\/3521"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rfo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/481"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rfo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3509"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}