Mountains for stargazing
Where the big telescopes live.
Terra Terra Collections Mountains for stargazing
Telescopes want high, dry, dark mountains. These are the summits where astronomers look at the universe, from Hawaii to the Atacama, as terrain you can hold.
12 stops · read them in order, or jump to the one you want
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Mauna Kea, Hawaii
Measured from the seabed, the tallest mountain on Earth.
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Roque de los Muchachos, La Palma
A volcanic rim above the clouds, home to some of the biggest telescopes in Europe.
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Teide, Tenerife
Spain's highest peak, rising from an ancient caldera.
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Cerro Paranal, Chile
The Atacama summit of the Very Large Telescope, flattened on top to make room for it.
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Chajnantor Plateau, Chile
At 5,000 m in the Atacama, the plateau where the ALMA antennas listen to the universe.
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La Silla, Chile
One of the first big observatory mountains in the southern sky.
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Kitt Peak, Arizona
A sacred Tohono O'odham mountain with one of the largest collections of optical telescopes on Earth.
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Mount Wilson, California
Above Los Angeles, where Edwin Hubble showed that the universe is expanding.
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Palomar Mountain, California
Home of the 200-inch Hale telescope, the largest in the world for nearly thirty years.
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Pic du Midi de Bigorre, France
A Pyrenean summit with an observatory, used to photograph the Moon before the Apollo landings.
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Siding Spring, Australia
Australia's biggest optical telescopes stand on a volcanic ridge in the Warrumbungle Range.
