Spectacular Night Sky of Atacama

The spectacular view of our home galaxy as seen from the extremely dark desert of Atacama, Chile. The three cacti in the foreground are Echinopsis Atacamensis. They are usually between 6 to 8 meters in height for a diameter of about 70 cm. They live at altitudes between 2600 and 3800 m in the San Pedro de Atacama region, north of Chile. It is protected species that was used for too long as construction wood and still for handicraft.