Chile is known worldwide for the great development that astronomy has taken in the country.
Thanks to the purity quality of its skies, Chile is known in the scientific field for having one of the best and clear skies in the world. With very few cloudy nights and an atmosphere free of environmental and light pollution, makes them ideal for astronomical observation, especially towards the north of the country.
There is a very particular atmospheric stability in Chile because of its relative proximity to the sea and the relationship between the extreme dryness of the desert and the Humboldt Current
In addition, Chile’s location in the southern hemisphere make it possible to observe objects that cannot be observed from the north. This has helped Chile to developed in the recent years a high quality technology for scientific research and experienced professionals are going there for sky observation.
With millions invested in this area, in Chile have place 60% of the professional astronomical observations worldwide. With projects in astronomical research known worldwide the main is located in the Atacama region and is known as ALMA (Atacama Large Millimeter Array). This radio astronomy project is the largest worldwide, gathering 66 antennas located at 5000 meters altitude and thanks to its location it is possible to observe 87% of the sky and 73% of the northern hemisphere sky .
Thus, Chile has a great opportunity to become one of the destinations of excellence within the global scene of astronomical tourism, competing with destinations which has developed this type of tourism such as Spain, USA, New Zealand, Australia, Canada, South Africa and Namibia.
Within the country there are more than 9 scientific observatories that can be visited, plus 25 tourist observatories, 23 hotels focused on astronomical tourism or as some call it: AstroTourism .
In Chile, the astronomical tourism offer is concentrated among the Biobío and Antofagasta, especially in the Region of Coquimbo, inside the mountains from La Serena , in the Elqui Valley can be found 50% of private companies related with this tourism concept.
THE ROAD OF THE STARS
Thanks to its location and its weather, in the Elqui Valle area there is a great position for observation the sky and thanks to this, few years ago Tourism Office have created what is called The Road of the Stars .
The touristic offer within this area includes professional and private Observatories (some of the observatories that can be visited are Mamalluca, Pangue, Cancana, Collowara and Cruz del Sur Observatory) and naked-eye sky observations and many companies will give you an introduction to observing the sky.
“Magic exists. Who can doubt it, when there are rainbows and wildflowers, the music of the wind and the silence of the stars? Anyone who has loved has been touched by magic. It is such a simple and such an extraordinary part of the lives we live.”
– Nora Roberts
I was invited by Turismo Migrantes to do a night hike, which after a beautiful trekking nearby the town of Pisco Elqui, we arrived to a campfire (and greeted with a really delicious Pisco sour) in which the specialized guide led us and introduces us for the fascinating world of astronomical observation.
We were able to observe the just with our eyes the incomparable Milky Way, constellations ( many of which after years of trying I finally see how they represent), the Magellanic Clouds, some very bright stars as the beautiful Alpha, Beta, Betelgeuse and Sirius star.
In addition, through a professional telescope we had the pleasure to observe nebulae, clusters stars and the beautiful Jupiter with its three moons.
Have you had the opportunity to visit an observatory? Do you know anything more about astronomy in Chile you would like to share with us ?
The beautiful photographs are a Eric Gonzalez contribution, find it on Facebook o Instagram!
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