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Atacama has 0.3mm of rain a year. It makes this region one of the driest places in the world. For some it is a definition of hell. But there are weirdoes for whom Atacama is a true paradise – astronomers. With 300 cloudless days a year, no light pollution coming from big agglomerations, high mountains and relatively good infrastructure, Atacama is a perfect spot to gaze at stars. Chileans even cooked the phrase “La ventana al Universo” (“The window to the Universe”) to refer to Atacama. Consequently, there are numerous world-leading observatories scattered around.

Interestingly, some local governments and entrepreneurs have spotted additional, more down-to-earth and money-making opportunities. They started creating smaller observatories devoted to tourism only. This is led to a rather unique form of spending free time – “astrotourism”. We attended two night séances of sky-watching. This is really cool to zoom in what we this is a star, just to discover that it is a galaxy or nebula or a cluster of stars or other creatures. We learned how to find the South based on stars. We counted the moons of Jupiter (there are 4, although some say at least 63) and we searched for life on Mars.

With a bit of diplomatic skills, it is also possible to visit the real stuff – enormous scientific campuses which shelter huge telescopes and are exclusively for scientist and their research. We managed to get in a tour around the observatory called Tololo, of course during the day, at the time when scientists are asleep in the dorms nearby. Yes, although it is not really necessary given the modern communication technology, the astronomers still come physically to the spot to conduct research. It is more romantic for them.

* Another great location to observe the southern sky is Nambia, but with much worse infrastructure than Atacama.

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