First Light on Chaltén
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First Light on Chaltén

by Giulia Cozzani, Laboratory of Physics and Chemistry of the Environment and Space (LPC2E), Orléans, France

A first ray of sunlight strikes the peak of El Chaltén (Fitz Roy) at sunrise, in Patagonia, Argentina. Known to the Aonikenk (Tehuelche) people as Chaltén, meaning ''Smoky Mountain'', this sacred peak is often hidden by clouds shaped by the strong winds at its summit. After a pre-dawn hike under a cloudy sky, the mountain suddenly emerged just before sunrise, when the clouds cleared and the peak was lit by the first light of day.