Frequently asked
Is tonight good for stargazing at Chapada dos Veadeiros?
The live score above pulls today's forecast and runs it through StarCast's scoring model, factoring in cloud cover, moon illumination, Bortle class, humidity, and atmospheric transparency. Above 70 is an excellent night. Below 40, conditions are poor. The score updates daily.
What makes Chapada dos Veadeiros good for astrophotography?
Chapada dos Veadeiros National Park in the central Brazilian highlands of Goiás state sits on one of the oldest geological formations on Earth — the ancient quartzite plateau of the Brazilian Central Plateau — at elevations of 1,000 to 1,650 meters. The park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and sits in the heart of the Brazilian Cerrado, one of the world's most biodiverse savannas, far from the major cities of the Brazilian interior. Bortle Class 2 to 3 skies are accessible in the park's more remote areas, and the South American perspective delivers the Southern Hemisphere's Milky Way in brilliant detail overhead. Waterfalls, crystal-clear rivers over quartzite bedrock, and the open Cerrado savanna with its distinctive twisted trees provide varied and distinctive foreground that is uniquely Brazilian in character.
When is the Milky Way visible at Chapada dos Veadeiros?
The galactic core is visible year-round at this central Brazilian latitude and rises very high in the sky, with the austral winter from May through August placing it nearest to overhead. Brazil's Cerrado has two distinct seasons: the dry season from May through September, which delivers clear nights of high quality and is the prime astrophotography season; and the rainy season from October through April, which brings significant cloud cover, particularly from November through March. The dry season months of June, July, and August are the most reliable window, combining the highest galactic positioning with the clearest and driest atmospheric conditions of the year.
