Stargazing at Atacama Desert in May
near San Pedro de Atacama, Chile. Figures for May 2027, calculated by us. Times are local.
Milky Way season
In mid-May the sky is fully dark from about 19:17 to 05:41, 10.3 hours a night. The bright centre of the Milky Way is well up from about 21:12 to 05:32.
The darkest nights in May 2027
Nights when the Moon is down for almost all of the dark hours:
- 2 May to 9 May 2027 (8 nights)
- 31 May to 7 Jun 2027 (8 nights)
- New Moon: 6 May 2027
- Full Moon: 20 May 2027
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.