The state park is more remote and rugged. We offer a more dispersed and self-guided experience. It's also a more relaxed choice for paddling trips, it's popular among birdwatchers, and it's also one of the best places in Texas to stargaze-after all, West Texas has the darkest skies in the state.
On November 28, with just weeks remaining until the run-off in Chile's presidential election, far-right candidate Jose Antonio Kast issued a warning. "To the irregular immigrants in Chile," he said, "I tell you that 103 days remain for you to leave our country voluntarily." Kast ultimately won the election and is expected to be sworn in on March 11. But so far, in the highlands of Chile's most northerly region, the immigrant exodus that some expected has not occurred.
The hot, dry and windy conditions that enabled the fires to blaze across huge areas in January were made about three times more likely by global heating, researchers from the World Weather Attribution (WWA) consortium found. Parts of Chile and Argentina are experiencing significantly drier summers as a result of human-caused carbon emissions, with rainfall now 25% lower in early summer in Chile and 20% lower in the affected region of Patagonia.
Chilean President Gabriel Boric declared a state of catastrophe in two southern regions on Sunday, as raging wildfires forced more than 50,000 people to evacuate and killed at least 18 people. According to Chile's forestry agency CONAF, firefighters were battling 24 active fires across the country as of Sunday morning, with the largest in the regions of Nuble and Biobio, where the government declared the emergency.
BackcountryFor most skiers, "all-inclusive" means a lift ticket and a buffet. Forrest Schmidt means something very different: a hot titanium stove in a tipi, filet mignon next to a steaming hot spring, and ancient araucaria trees holding cold smoke over a perfectly set skintrack. Schmidt, a 44-year-old "East Coast kid" from rural New York, runs APEX Andes (Andes Puro Exploraciones) out of Malalcahuello in Chile's Araucanía region. His guide service is small by design with
There is a profound, quiet magic in standing alone under a truly dark sky, but the experience becomes something else entirely when shared with a community of fellow explorers. Star parties are the heartbeat of this experience: communal, high-energy gatherings where everyone from veteran astronomers to total beginners can share a wide-angle view of the cosmos. It's a chance to level up your astrophotography skills, learn the latest in deep-space science from experts,
Your stargazing experience can differ greatly based on where you are in the world. That's due in part to light pollution, which can drown out all but the brightest stars and satellites in densely populated areas. For truly unforgettable celestial views, you'll need to visit one of the darkest places in the U.S. on a clear night. DarkSky is an Arizona-based nonprofit with the mission "to restore the nighttime environment and protect communities and wildlife from light pollution."
After years of traveling the globe in search of the darkest skies still possible in an increasingly bright world, I've learned something that surprises a lot of people: truly experiencing the night isn't just about where you go-it's about when you go. If I had to share just one astrotourism tip with travelers, it would be this: plan your trip around the new moon. It sounds almost too simple, but the difference it makes is dramatic. When the moon is absent from the night sky, darkness returns in a way that feels almost ancient. Stars multiply. Constellations become easier to trace. And in truly dark places, the Milky Way often reveals itself as a glowing, dusty band stretching from horizon to horizon.
In the summer of 2022, I quit my full-time job to spend 10 weeks backpacking through South America with my then-boyfriend (now-husband). Consumed by the travel bug, we packed up all our belongings and moved them from our Miami apartment to a storage unit before hitting the road, visiting 16 cities across eight countries. The whole trip was incredible, but four places hold a special place in my memory.
On an empty beach at the bottom of the world, the waves that roll over the sand are midnight blue and lit by the stars and a waxing moon. I'm only vaguely familiar with the constellations that hang above Great Barrier Island, known for centuries to the Māori as Aotea, some 56 nautical miles northeast of Auckland, New Zealand. I'm not all that used to seeing them so clearly,
As one of the most protected national parks in the world, the Galápagos Islands are full of incredible wildlife that are not afraid of humans and will come in closer contact with you than is possible in most other natural places in the world. You can experience a variety of landscapes in a small space, from lush highlands full of tortoises to moon-like volcanic rock covered in piles of iguanas.
At the time the proposed telescope was one of three contenders to make a giant leap in mirror size from the roughly 10-meter diameter instruments that existed then, to approximately 30 meters. This represented a huge increase in light-gathering potential, allowing astronomers to see much further into the universe-and therefore back into time-with far greater clarity.
Except for penguins and Antarctic scientists, few will be able to enjoy February's annular solar eclipse. That's because this eclipse will see the moon pass between the Earth and sun across the path of the southern continent, reaching a maximum at around 12:12pm UTC. People living in Eswatini, Lesotho, Madagascar, Mozambique, South Africa, Zimbabwe, and the southern parts of Botswana, Malawi, Namibia, Tanzania and Zambia, will only see a partial eclipse March 3.