Mr Wilson said most of the areas in the Northern Hemisphere had too much light pollution which prevented good stargazing, whereas the Aoraki Mackenzie Dark Sky Reserve, of which Lake Tekapo was part, had used special shields and lightbulbs for 30 years to point the light downwards in order to preserve the night sky.
Mr Wilson said being surrounded by mountains which kept the low cloud away and made the stability of the night sky clearer and sharper because it was further away from the ocean also made Lake Tekapo a perfect location for stargazing.
The advantage Chile had over New Zealand was that some areas had not seen rain for years so there were fewer or no clouds obstructing the view.
And while many of the other best places to see the stars in the world were isolated, he believed the Mt John University Observatory was the most accessible spot as it was open to the public in the day time and ran sky tours at night.
Lake Tekapo Lodge owner Stephanie Hagen said the majority of guests were from big cities in the Northern Hemisphere, including Chinese visitors, who had never seen stars so clearly before. While the area had a number of other attractions, including the Church of the Good Shepherd, sparkling lake and hot springs, the stars were often one of the main reasons people visited.
"People are often intrigued by the Southern Cross and the fact the stars are so different from the Northern Hemisphere ... it's all round the other way. And if they are really lucky they can see the Aurora Australis. A lot of well-travelled people have already seen the Northern Lights but it's a real treat for them to see the Southern Lights."
San Pedro de Atacama, Chile has been rated the best place in the world for stargazing. Picture / Flickr Creative Commons
Auckland Stardome astronomy educator David Britten said the moon also made it harder to view the stars, as was the case with Comet Lovejoy at the moment. The best time to view the comet with the naked eye would be from Friday and about an hour after sunset, he said.
Mr Britten was disappointed that only one of the eight best stargazing spots in New Zealand on the list was in the North Island - Ngongotaha, near Rotorua - and said Aucklanders did not have to travel far from the city for a nice night sky.
He said places such as the Coromandel also offered great viewing.
"From an astronomical point of view, there's another reason why New Zealand is so well placed and that is because east of us there's nothing - there's a whole Pacific Ocean. So if we are doing astronomical observations, the last observation after South America is New Zealand. So when observations are being made New Zealand is the first to pick up what Chile last saw so we fill in the gaps a lot."
Top 8 stargazing spots in NZ
• Lake Tekapo
• Mt Cook Village
• Twizel
• Fairlie
• Omarama
• Arthurs Pass
• Burkes Pass
• Ngongotaha
Top 10 in world
• San Pedro de Atacama, Chile
• Lake Tekapo
• Sedona, USA
• Flagstaff, USA
• Merzouga, Morocco
• Wadi Rum, Jordan
• Ayers Rock, Australia
• Moab, USA
• Port Dickson, Malaysia
• Mitzpe Ramon, Israel
