La Loma, November 7, 2023
With the objective of providing a space for culture, entertainment, technology, science, and research to employees and the academic community close to its area of influence in the department of Cesar, the “Garry Neil Drummond” Astronomical Observatory was born, as a tribute to the late president and CEO of the mining company.
The project, which was already presented to the scientific community in the Colombian Astronomy Network, was developed thanks to the passion of several company employees, who for more than ten years created a small astronomy club that would meet in the mining operations airfield to observe space.
“We want people and mainly children who visit, to be inspired when visiting our observatory. Our biggest bet with this project is that at least one child will want to pursue a science relate career such as astronomy, and that he or she is able to become a great scientist due to this great experience,” said José David Contreras, lead employee of the project.
*This is some of the equipment available at the observatory.
The observatory, which today has four telescopes, three of them mechanical and one electronic, will soon receive a complement of three more, giving it the capacity to capture much faster images. With this there will be seven instruments that can be used on site and remotely by more than 100 people every week, after receiving training. This will allow agile, excellent quality research to be carried out and thus offer a better understanding of the universe. Additionally, each of these will provide a different experience, due to the variety of power in focal length.
“For more than a year now, the observatory has opened its doors to all employees who have wanted to visit the place and see up close all the magic that happens in our celestial vault. Now, it is the turn to welcome the academic community and awaken in each student the love for science and research,” stressed José David.
The purpose of the project, in which Drummond has invested more than 368 million pesos, is to attract employees, contractors, visitors, and especially, the educational community of the 118 official public schools in the mining corridor, who from theory to practice will learn about visual astronomy, astrophotography, and spectroscopy.
The observatory has a YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/@observatoryognd2869, in which the total annular eclipse was recently broadcasted. The channel also has plans to offer a total of 16 astronomy lessons, of which three are already published.
“Apart from the functionality we have in the observatory, the ability to remotely operate the main telescope was recently tested with the occurrence of the eclipse, where more than 350 people joined and we were able to demonstrate the technical capabilities of our observatory,” José David Contreras highlighted.
With this space, Drummond will continue contributing to the strengthening of the education and culture in its. zones of influence.