San Pedro de Atacama is a privileged place for observing stars and their constellations, thanks to its clear skies for much of the year. This allows the Atacama Desert to become one of the most iconic places for astrotourism, “stargazing” or astronomical tourism, by providing the ideal elements for nighttime observation. This is how many visitors have understood it, who in recent years wish to live this wonderful experience.

Due to these particularities that the Atacama Desert presents, important astronomical observatories have been installed. The peculiar geography and natural climate conditions have made it possible to build these facilities and develop their research, and thus understand more about the functioning of the universe (chileestuyo.cl). Thus, the Atacama Desert was chosen for the installation of the ALMA radio telescope (Atacama Large Millimiter / Submillimiter Array), one of the most important scientific facilities to study the origin of the cosmos.

Stargazing can be done with the naked eye, or with various types of telescopes, or even with mirrors of water, as the ancient inhabitants of the Andean region did, where they projected the constellations they saw in the sky, applying the laws of optics. The Earth, as a sphere, is studied with the concepts of spherical geometry (Milla Villena, C. 2008. “Genesis of Andean Culture”), which allowed the use of these ancient techniques for observing and studying the stars.

To avoid light pollution, observation is usually done in the desert, or on the outskirts of town at night. That is why, regardless of the season, we recommend bringing warm clothing for observation, such as a parka, jacket and long pants, given the thermal oscillation of the desert where temperatures drop at night.

We invite you to live this unique experience during your trip to the Atacama Desert!