The moon as seen from Chile's Atacama Salt Flats
I’m cheating a bit here as this photo was taken by my mother so I can’t claim it as my own. This photo was taken with a ‘point and shoot’ camera held up to the viewfinder of the telescope – no trickery or crazy lenses.
Last October/November my parents travelled around South America for a well deserved treat after a lifetime of working and raising three of us boys. By early November they had made it to Chile’s Atacama Desert having joined our Atacama Patagonia walking holiday group.
The combination of walking in the Atacama and Patagonia is a fairly common offering amongst tour operators to South America which is precisely why we try to do things differently. Go places other people do not, get away from the obvious to find hidden gems. This photos is a perfect example.
A few years back we discovered a French astronomer living on the edge of the salt flats near the town of San Pedro. He offered to take our clients out into the salt flats, away from any light pollution, set up some telescopes and introduce everyone to the night skies of the southern hemisphere. People enjoyed it so much that we have included it as part of the holiday ever since.
For me, this photo does two things. Firstly it reminds me how wonderful it is to be away from atmospheric and light pollution, it really is rejuvenating. Secondly, this photo makes me want to stop and stare. This is either going to be horribly corny or a statement of the bleedin’ obvious but I suspect that the romance of the moon landings has never really faded, even for those of us born after the event.
The moon is a constant presence which most of us just take for granted and yet it is completely unknown to most of us. This photo lets me stop and stare, to explore and imagine the physical features of the moon really quite vividly. I hope you enjoy it too.
Read more about our holidays to Chile or read our guide to Chile.
If you would like to go on a walking holiday to Chile and see the moon close up, as well as the rings of Saturn, the red glow of Mars…then take a look at our Atacama Patagonia holiday.