Deserts & the Night Sky
Why deserts have the clearest skies
The same dryness that makes deserts so hostile to life makes them perfect for stargazing. That is why many of the world's greatest telescopes sit in the heart of the desert.
Bone-dry air
Water vapour blurs and absorbs starlight. Desert air holds almost none, so the sky is razor-sharp and transparent.
Clear, cloudless nights
Many deserts see 300+ clear nights a year, giving telescopes far more usable observing time than anywhere else.
High and remote
The best desert sites sit on high plateaus above the thickest, most turbulent air — and far from cities.
Almost no light pollution
With no towns for hundreds of kilometres, the night is truly black and the faintest galaxies come into view.
Great desert observatories
Some of the most powerful eyes on the universe are built in deserts across the globe.
Paranal Observatory (VLT)
Atacama Desert, Chile
Home of the Very Large Telescope, four giant 8-metre telescopes perched on a mountain in the driest desert on Earth.
ALMA
Atacama Desert, Chile
An array of 66 radio antennas on the Chajnantor plateau at about 5,000 m — one of the highest observatories in the world.
La Silla Observatory
Atacama Desert, Chile
A pioneering mountaintop observatory whose dark Atacama skies helped discover planets around other stars.
Kitt Peak Observatory
Sonoran Desert, USA
One of the largest collections of telescopes in the world, rising above the Sonoran Desert in Arizona.
Extremely Large Telescope
Atacama Desert, Chile
Under construction on Cerro Armazones — when finished it will be the largest optical telescope ever built.
NamibRand Dark Sky Reserve
Namib Desert, Namibia
One of the darkest measured places on Earth and Africa’s first International Dark Sky Reserve — perfect for the naked eye.