Carrier Context :
Unique Projects

  La Silla: a finer view of the heavens

When the Cerro Paranal telescopes begin operation in 2003, astronomers will be able to look further back in time than ever before.

 

The system, a 30-series chiller from McMinnville, Tennessee and two chillers from Carrier SA in Montluel, France, is operated by digital Carrier Comfort Network controls. The same Carrier Comfort Network also controls the heat exchanger that keeps the oil in the dome's hydraulic system at the right temperature. The hydraulic system moves the telescope and the 30-ton dome itself.

"There's an important difference between the astronomers and our Carrier system," says Silva. "The astronomers only work at night. The air conditioning works always."

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