This week we have enjoyed the largest moon in the last seventy years. I think it is a good time to talk about the sky of Chile, the sky where you can see the best stars in the world.
Did you know that one third of all the telescopes in the world are in Chile? The country where I live, Chile, has positioned itself as a pole of astronomy, because the north of Chile has the skies with the best conditions to see the stars and planets, places not contaminated by artificial light and far from dust sources, the main enemies of astronomy.
The best places to see the stars are:
- San Pedro de Atacama, in northern Chile, near the border with Bolivia. A magical place to see the stars in the middle of the desert! In this area, specifically in the Chajnantor valley, the ALMA project is being developed, a giant observatory with 50 antennas, each 12 m in diameter. In addition to seeing this observatory from the town of San Pedro de Atacama there are night excursions, they are quite well organized and have material to observe the stars.
- La Serena: In the Coquimbo region, in the Elqui Valley, a 4-hour drive north of Santiago, two tourist observatories have been installed. 25 Km away is
Mayu Mountain
and the
Serena Observatory
The Cerro Mayu Observatory, owned by the German astronomer Silvia Müllner, with which you can practice astrophotography. www.observatoryserena.com Also in this area, but with a more professional approach, we find at 2400 meters above sea level the La Silla Observatory, managed by ESO (European Southern Observatory), which has the most advanced means to study the universe. - Vicuña: This is the pole par excellence of astronomical tourism and its authorities have been striving to make it so with measures such as the restriction of public lighting to reduce light pollution and preserve the sky resource since 1995. The main stage for star gazing is the famous
Mamalluca Observatory
,
From my astronomical ignorance I was surprised to see that the telescopes are automated, you can type in the name of the star you are interested in looking for and the telescope locates and focuses it!
