The Government of Chile, on the occasion of the 500th anniversary of Ferdinand Magellan’s discovery of the strait between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, has established an award for outstanding researchers whose work responds to the challenges and needs of the present day. For a significant contribution to the development of astronomical knowledge, the award was granted to Prof. Andrzej Udalski, scientist of the Astronomical Observatory of the University of Warsaw.

The jury appreciated his contribution to the advancement of astronomical knowledge, especially his project “The Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment” (OGLE), whose team made significant discoveries in the study of the structure of the Milky Way, Magellanic Clouds and the discovery of extrasolar planets. The basis of the OGLE team’s activities are astronomical observations conducted with the Polish telescope located at the Las Campanas observatory in Chile.

-This award is a very pleasant surprise for me. Maybe mainly because it was granted by the government of a distant country, which appreciated my team’s work, comparing it in a sense to the achievements of great explorers of the 15th and 16th centuries – said Prof. Udalski.