Paper short abstract:

This paper will analyse the case of international astronomy in Chile and Australia during the 1960s. Its main focus will be on how the Cold War environment intersected these projects, influencing their significance for global astronomy and shaping our understanding of concepts such as the "South."

Paper long abstract:

One of the characteristics of astronomy is its undeniable global nature. Perhaps this can be attributed to its long-standing internationalism tradition, but more evidently, it arises from the fact that stars, galaxies, nebulae, and any other celestial phenomena are not subject to any national or earthly organization, ownership, or sovereignty claims. Despite this condition, astronomical observation generally require carefully chosen locations on Earth (except for current space telescopes). Up until the 1960s, astronomy was primarily developed in the northern hemisphere, which hosted the most powerful telescopes. However, this scenario changed in the 1960s, In the 1960s as the United States, USSR, and European countries sought to build their own observatories in the southern hemisphere. South Africa, Chile, and Australia were possible candidates for this endeavour. A Cold War environment intersected with the need for southern observatories, as this location allowed reaching portions of the sky not visible from the northern hemisphere. For centuries, the imagery of the South portrayed it as lagging behind in terms of cutting-edge science and technology, fuelling its ongoing desires for modernization. Suddenly the South became crucial, and astronomy played a significant role in reshaping the landscape of science and technology there, particularly from the 1960s onward. This paper will address the case of astronomy in Chile and Australia during the 1960s, examining their global significance and how they influenced the evolving geographical and symbolic interpretations of the concept of “the South”.