Astronomy Activity in Bolivia

Astronomy has an incipient activity in Bolivia. There are few professional related activities in the past decades. From 1920's P. Descotes S.J., Director of San Calixto Seismology Observatory measure stars transit, in a daily basis, to get a precise timekeeping for seismic activity records, until San Calixto get, 20 or 30 years after, equipment for time radio signals acquire.
From meddle of XX century in Chacaltaya, near the City of La Paz, born an important observation and research work of Cosmic Rays, at 1950's the principal work was made by researchers from USA. At present time, there are research team's equipment from Japan, Italy and Brazil. But there are not Bolivian research projects.
The former URSS, have an observatory for satellite geodesic measures in the Altiplano, an built a small observatory at Tarija in the south of Bolivia that worked, with a team of soviet scientists, from 1984 to 1989, until the financial problems, one or two years before the end of the URSS, obligate the team to return to their country. Now, is used for school tours.

In the first half of XX century, amateur activity can be found in individuals efforts of people that have some telescope and get a group of friends for weekly of monthly, social mainly, meetings; but without intention, to get the foundations for a serious and systematic activity.
Due to Dr. Max Schreier efforts in La Paz, some people was related to amateur activities, but none work was made, exception for one or two persons at 1980's.
When ASO was founded in 1977, the first couple of years, there was not a visible contrast to any astronomical club, but from 1980 ASO started a new way to work and get the foundations for a well based scientific activity that will bring to Bolivia a professional category some day.
Many people met ASO, but only very few participate of systematic activities, ASO inspire people to astronomy, but, is not easy get people that hold the scientific method in mind.
For many people, astronomy is a way to get some special status between friends or society, like, the comment about the first half of XX century, today many people only watch the moon and some celestial objects, read some news in Internet and collect pictures and videos.
You can read other kind of experiences about astronomy in Bolivia that we experimented in ASO, following this link: Is Not Easy