New Horizons KBO Search-Magellan/Baade
Image: Wikimedia Commons
High in the Chilean Andes at Las Campanas Observatory stands the Magellan Baade Telescope, one of a pair of giant telescopes that played a leading role in finding a new target for NASA's New Horizons spacecraft.
About New Horizons KBO Search-Magellan/Baade
The Baade Telescope is one of the twin 6.5-metre Magellan Telescopes at Las Campanas Observatory in Chile, alongside its sister instrument, the Magellan Clay Telescope. From 2011, it took part in a coordinated ground-based search campaign for Kuiper Belt Objects (KBOs) that could serve as the next destination for New Horizons after its Pluto flyby.
Telescopes & research
Equipped with advanced imaging cameras including MegaCam and IMACS, the Baade Telescope achieved a detection limit of magnitude 26.0 at 50% efficiency during multi-hour observations under exceptional seeing conditions. Ground-based efforts from the Magellan telescopes ultimately turned up around 80 new Kuiper Belt Objects, and the data they produced was considered the best of the entire New Horizons KBO search campaign.
Location & getting there
The telescope sits at Las Campanas Observatory in the Atacama region of northern Chile, one of the driest and clearest observing sites in the world.
Visiting New Horizons KBO Search-Magellan/Baade
Las Campanas is an active research observatory; public visits are limited and typically require advance arrangement. Check the observatory's official channels before planning a trip.
See your named star from here
A telescope capable of picking out faint Kuiper Belt Objects at the edge of the solar system can easily locate the coordinates of any named star. If you've named a star with Star Register, find its position in our star catalogue and imagine it through Chile's famously clear skies.
Opening hours and public-visit programs vary by season. Check Google Maps for current times before you travel.
