Red Stars? The Astronomical Development of Cold War Chile

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.35588/mg3e5f15

Keywords:

Global Cold War, History of Astronomy, Cold War Science, History of science, astronomical observatories

Abstract

This paper analyses the Soviet Union’s scientific presence in Chile during the 1960s, specifically in the field of astronomy, within the broader context of the global Cold War. By examining this case, the paper highlights a significant scientific development connected to international dynamics, observed from a Global South perspective. The study draws on Chilean and US sources and reports to trace the flow of information, revealing a more complex structure of Cold War interactions than the traditional East-West dichotomy suggests. This approach also underscores the complexities of international relations through the lens of science.

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Author Biographies

  • Barbara Silva, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile

    Associate Professor at Universidad Católica de Chile, holding a double appointment within College UC and the Faculty of History, Geography, and Political Science. She serves as the Director of Research and Development at College UC, the Chilean representative at the Division of Science and Technology (DHST), and an officer at STAND, the Commission of Science, Technology and Diplomacy. She is also the representative-at-large of SKLAC (Forum for Science and Knowledge in Latin America and the Caribbean) at the History of Science Society of the US.

    Her research focuses on the contemporary history of science in Chile and Latin America, with a strong emphasis on global perspectives. She has explored processes related to astronomy, solar engineering, and water technologies. BK Silva authorises several books, including Astronomy at the Turn of the Twentieth Century. Chasing Southern Stars (Palgrave Macmillan, 2019), Estrellas desde el San Cristóbal (Catalonia, 2019). She co-authored Identidad Terremoteada (Ediciones UAH, 2018), and edited Ciencia e Historia Ambiental: paisajes, conflictos, recursos (part of the seriesHistoria de la ciencia y la tecnología en Chile; Ed. Universitaria, 2023).  She is the PI for a grant for the International Geophysical Year.

  • Alfredo Riquelme, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile

    Professor at the Instituto de Historia of the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile and scientific collaborator of l’Institut d’histoire du temps présent (IHTP_CNRS), holds a PhD in History from the Universitat de València (2003) and is the author of several books, articles, and book chapters on communism, revolutionary imagination, and the connections between the contemporary history of Chile and world politics. Among others, he is the author of the book Rojo Atardecer. El comunismo chileno entre dictadura y democracia (2009) and co-author of Chile y la Guerra Fría global (2014) and Chile en los archivos soviéticos (three volumes published respectively in 2005, 2009, and 2018). He has recently published the book chapters “La referencia soviética en la izquierda chilena: imaginación revolucionaria, fascinación del progreso y controversia democrática” (2021), “1970: Utopía revolucionaria” (2022), “A via chilena ao socialismo e os paradoxos da imaginaçao revolucionária” (2023) and “Fuentes coetáneas y retrospectivas en la historia y las memorias de Chile. Algunas reflexiones a partir de la propia experiencia, 1973-2023” (2024). He is currently engaged in extensive research on the interactions between the political lefts of Chile and Latin Europe (Italy, Spain, France, and Portugal) between c.1970 and c.1982.

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Published

2024-12-27

Issue

Vol. 28 No. 2 (2024): New Horizons and Old Tensions: History, Memory, and Emotions in the 21st Century

Section

Articles

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Copyright (c) 2024 Revista de Historia Social y de las Mentalidades

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How to Cite

Red Stars? The Astronomical Development of Cold War Chile. (2024). Revista De Historia Social Y De Las Mentalidades, 28(2), 1-36. https://doi.org/10.35588/mg3e5f15