Dark secrets

Stargazing heaven put at risk by energy plant

John Bartlett

In the Atacama desert, the driest non-polar region on Earth, the sky shines when the sun sets. Up in the arid hills 130km south of the Chilean city of Antofagasta, comets burn brightly and flawless trails of stars and nebulae streak the night sky. So complete is the darkness that Indigenous peoples staring up at these skies contemplated the dark spots in between the stars – finding the forms of animals and ancestors in the perfect darkness beyond. These are the darkest, clearest skies for observation in the world, and they have propelled Chile to become the world’s astronomical powerhouse. But they are under immediate threat, astronomers are warning. In December, the energy company AES Andes put forward plans for the country’s first industrial-scale green hydrogen and ammonia processing plant,…

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Guardian Weekly (Digital) - 1 Issue, 14 March 2025

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