Chile’s Atacama Desert: The Best Stargazing Spot in the World
The night sky as seen from the Alto Atacama Desert Lodge & Spa (Photo: Alto Atacama Desert Lodge & Spa)
With the click of a laser pointer, the guide directed our attention to the night sky. His job was not a difficult one. As far as everyone could see, a bountiful blanket of stars hung heavy and bright. Here, perched above the Alto Atacama’s open-air observatory in the remote Chilean desert, I had found one of astronomy’s most prized views.
Just west of the Andes Mountains and about 30 miles from the border of Bolivia, Chile’s Atacama Desert is a land of breathtaking extremes. A simple hour’s journey in nearly any direction will lead you to an array of diverse, stunning vistas. Snowcapped volcanoes, crystal blue saltwater lagoons, sweeping red rock canyons, piercing hot natural geysers — the Atacama Desert has them all. It’s no surprise then that this rare landscape is such a sought-after destination.
Livestock graze near the El Tatio geyser fields in northern Chile. (Photo: Micah Spangler)
The Amphitheater rock formation in the Atacama Desert’s Moon Valley (Photo: Micah Spangler)
Natural salt reserves leave large stretches of the Atacama Desert stark white. (Photo: Micah Spangler)
Sunset at Salar de Atacama, the largest salt flat in Chile (Photo: Micah Spangler)
The region has long drawn a diverse mix of hardcore thrill seekers and casual nature lovers. But beyond its incredible terrain, the Atacama is growing famous for another of its natural charms. When the sun sets and the cold sweeps in, Chile’s far northern desert becomes one of the best places in the world for stargazing. That’s why at the Alto Atacama — a picturesque lodge just outside the small oasis town of San Pedro de Atacama — hotel guides lead a unique, nightly astronomy excursion.
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“I’m not an astrophysicist,” our guide, Juan, joked, pointing his emerald green laser into the darkness and onto a cloud of soft light we learn is a nearby galaxy. “But I do have some interesting things to show you.”
Snowcapped volcanoes as seen from the Atacama Desert’s Moon Valley (Photo: Micah Spangler)
The Atacama, he informed us — despite all the lagoons and thermal lakes — is the driest desert in the world. That dryness coupled with the region’s high elevation, minimal cloud cover, and almost nonexistent light pollution make this one of the best places in the world for astronomical observations. In fact, the area is now home to the largest and most powerful observatory in the world.
Fully operational since March 2013, the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) is a collection of 66 radio telescopes working in unison to explore the deepest recesses of our universe. Escaping the atmospheric water vapor found at lower heights, ALMA is able to produce images of “hidden regions of space with unprecedented sharpness and sensitivity,” according to the National Radio Astronomy Observatory.
Flamingos sunbathe in northern Chile, a few miles from the Bolivia border. (Photo: Micah Spangler)
As we rested nearly flat in plush reclining chairs, Juan put down the laser pointer and readied the Alto Atacama’s own telescope. It was a far cry from ALMA, but at 16 inches wide and nearly 6 feet tall, it did the trick.
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With such clear skies, however, the device was almost unnecessary. With our gaze cast upward, it was easy to see details commonly obscured in even the most star-friendly regions of North America. Scenes typically only observed on color-enhanced film sparkled with unrivaled clarity.
The Milky Way stood out clearly like some preinstalled MacBook wallpaper, purples and blues twinkling behind the dark edges of the surrounding valley peaks. One dash of light, however, did not sparkle.
The Alto Atacama’s unique open-air observatory (Photo: Alto Atacama)
“That is the planet Jupiter,” Juan declared, pronouncing the “J” in Jupiter with a relaxing “H” sound. He turned the telescope toward the distant planet and called me over. Two dark bands marbled across the middle of the orb, surrounded by three speckles of light unseen by the naked eye. “Those are Jupiter’s moons,” he said.
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As the others each took a turn at the helm of the telescope, I looked around the dark desert once again. During the day, the Atacama is itself another world. But at night, it offers up something even more — a view of the entire solar system.
The best part of it all is that you don’t need any fancy equipment to marvel at its wonders. The sky effortlessly unfurls itself, sweeping across your eyes like an infinite kaleidoscope. A friendly guide armed with a laser pointer, however, doesn’t hurt.
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