Stargazing at Atacama Desert in December
near San Pedro de Atacama, Chile. Figures for December 2026, calculated by us. Times are local.
Stars, no core
In mid-December the sky is fully dark from about 21:40 to 05:15, 7.3 hours a night. The bright centre of the Milky Way is only up in daylight this month, but the rest of the sky is still worth the trip.
The darkest nights in December 2026
Nights when the Moon is down for almost all of the dark hours:
- 4 Dec to 12 Dec 2026 (9 nights)
- New Moon: 9 December 2026
- Full Moon: 24 December 2026
What to know
- The European Southern Observatory calls the Atacama one of the driest places on Earth, with over 300 clear nights a year.
- Several of the world’s major observatories are in northern Chile, including ESO’s Paranal and La Silla sites and ALMA.
- It is in the southern hemisphere, so the centre of the Milky Way passes high overhead in the southern winter.
Plan more than one night. A local operator in San Pedro warns that coming for a single night is risky, and advises avoiding the full Moon.
Get a note when it is worth going out
A short email before an eclipse, a strong meteor shower or a dark week worth planning for. No more than a few a month.
Atacama Desert: the whole year. All five dark-sky places.
Sources
- Darkness, Moon and Milky Way: our calculation, Astronomy Engine 2.1.19 (MIT licence). How we worked it out.
- ESO, Reflections of Paranal.
- San Pedro de Atacama Celestial Explorations, the astronomical Chile.