At night, when we look up at the stars, we can't help but think about the universe, the Milky Way, aliens, people in heaven, and ourselves. No matter which kind, it is beautiful, people can not help but yearn for the stars.
If you're looking for a place to "connect" with the stars a little further, Chile is the place to be. There are more than 40 international, university, public and private observatories, 27 of which are open to the public. Through the large telescopes and professional equipment of these professional institutions, the once unreachable stars are no longer mysterious, and the huge cosmic stars are more shocking.
It's the kind of emotional impact that will leave you speechless in a way that online images can never give you -- the Southern Cross overhead, pointing the way; The large and small Magellanic galaxies, floating like clouds beyond the Milky Way; You can also see the center of the galaxy's densest concentration of stars, which is only visible in the southern hemisphere.
Looking forward to it? Then follow us to find places that can help you realize your dreams.
1.The Paranal Observatory
The Parina Observatory is one of the most popular places for stargazers, as it is not only the site of the European Southern Observatory in Chile's Parina Mountains, but also the home of the famous Very Large Telescope (VLT). Here, 2630 meters above sea level, 12 kilometers from the coastline, the climate is dry, the starry sky is unusually clear, there is no interference of city lights, the number of fine nights throughout the year more than 340, is one of the best stargazing points in the world.
2.Atacama large millimeter wave/submillimeter wave array（ALMA）
The Atacama Large Millimeter/sub-millimeter Array (abbreviated as ALMA) is a large radio telescope array built by research institutions in East Asia, North America and Europe. ALMA is located in the Atacama Desert in northern Chile at an altitude of 5,060 meters, which is one of the driest climates on Earth, and its high altitude makes it ideal for millimeter wave astronomical observations.
The Atacama Large millimeter/submillimeter array consists of 66 parabolic antennas with a diameter of 12 meters, and the distance between the 66 antennas can vary from 46 meters to 16 kilometers. Compared with other telescope systems, ALMA can see fainter objects and obtain higher resolution images in the millimeter to millimeter wavelength, and the first black hole picture in human history was born here.
3.Tololo Mountain Intercontinental Observatory (CTIO)
Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO) is located on the top of Tololo Mountain, about 600 kilometers north of Santiago, Chile, and is part of the National Optical Observatory (NOAO). The main equipment is the 4-meter Blanco telescope and the 4.1-meter SOAR telescope, as well as the Schmidt telescope belonging to the University of Michigan. At an altitude of 2200 meters, Mount Tololo belongs to the Andes Mountains, where the climate is dry, more than 300 days a year for astronomical observation, is one of the best conditions in the world.
4.La Silla Observatory
Located on the outskirts of Chile's Atacama Desert, 2,400 meters above sea level and far from urban light pollution, the La Silla Observatory is the first observatory set up by ESO in Chile. ESO has three main optical and near-infrared telescopes in operation at its La Silla site: the New Technology Telescope (NTT), the 3.6-meter ESO Telescope, and the 2.2-meter MPG/ESO Telescope.
La Silla Observatory has always been at the forefront of astronomical research, and a large number of scientific discoveries have come from here. There, astronomers detected the system around Gliese 581, which contains what may be the first rocky planet found in the habitable zone outside our solar system, and NGC 3621 was discovered as an unusual disk-like galaxy using the 2.2-meter telescope's Wide-field Imager.
5. Cruz del Sur Observatory
The Southern Cross Observatory is a tourist observatory located in Cerro El Peralito, 3.5 km from the city of Combarbala. It is suitable for all types of astronomy enthusiasts, from children, students and adults aged 3 to 12 years old to visit and experience, and there are barrier-free facilities for visitors who need them.
6. Observatory of Mamalluca
Mamahuca Observatory is located in the Elqui Valley, northeast of Vicuna, Chile, and is the most popular tourist observatory in the region. Here you can observe galaxies, star clusters and nebulae in the sky through a 30cm telescope. There are also professional commentators to explain the mysteries of galaxies and the universe.
7. Andean Astronomical Observatory (AAO)
The Andean Observatory (AAO) is a private astronomical tourism observatory that uses high-tech telescopes to show visitors the wonders of the universe, galaxies and nebulae. The observatory has a panoramic dome structure, an observation platform and several telescopes of different levels to support the observation of the sun, the Milky Way, nebulae, star clusters and planets. Here is suitable for astronomy enthusiasts of different ages, we can understand the universe here, discover the mysteries of the universe.
In addition to these observatories, Chile has many very good observatories worth visiting, because Chile has the best astronomical observation environment in the world, so the world astronomical research institutions and astronomical research organizations want to set up the best astronomical telescopes here, which shows the importance of Chile in astronomical research.
The universe has infinite mysteries, people have not stopped the pace of exploration, and Chile is always at the forefront of astronomical research, bringing a variety of wonderful legends to the world.
