Astrophotography in Bahrain: The South of the Island and the Hawar Islands

Where to see the Milky Way in Bahrain

The darkest places in Bahrain are the desert south of Sakhir on the main island and the Hawar Islands off the south-east coast. From the main island the Moon, the planets and bright deep-sky objects work; for the Milky Way, take the boat to Hawar.

Bahrain is the hardest place in the Gulf to find a dark sky. The island is small, densely lit, and the glow of Manama and of Dammam across the causeway covers the north. It is still possible to photograph the night sky from Bahrain, but it means choosing targets that survive light pollution and driving to the south of the island or taking the boat to Hawar.

The south, around Sakhir

South of the racing circuit the island thins out into desert, with the Tree of Life and the oil field as the only landmarks. It is not dark by desert standards, but it is the darkest ground on the main island, and the southern sky over the water is the clearest part of it. Bright targets work: the Moon, the planets, Orion, the Pleiades and the brighter clusters.

Suits: planets and the Moon, bright deep-sky objects with a smart telescope, and star trails over the Tree of Life.

The Hawar Islands

Some twenty kilometres off the south-east coast, the Hawar Islands are the darkest place under Bahraini administration. There is one resort and a lot of empty coastline, and the glow of the mainland stays low in the north-west. The islands are a wildlife reserve, so stay to the areas the resort opens.

Suits: Milky Way over the sea, and anyone who wants the darkest sky Bahrain has.

Timing a night

Winter nights are clear and cool. Summer brings humidity that turns the sky milky near the coast, which is the whole island, so summer core shots are a late-night job with the humidity as low as it gets. Dust from the mainland is the other thing to check.

What to shoot from Bahrain

From 26 degrees north the galactic core stands high in the south in summer, and in winter Orion passes almost overhead. A smart telescope does well here because it stacks through light pollution that a wide lens cannot, and the planets and the Moon do not care about the sky glow at all.

Processing what you bring home

Akastroid stacks and finishes your frames on your own computer, with nothing uploaded. On a Bahrain frame the first job is always the sky glow, and its gradient removal and sky model are made for it. The free download processes five sessions and allows two exports. If you buy a licence later, PayPal works for paying from Bahrain, with a PayPal account or a debit or credit card.

Across the Middle East

The same guide for the rest of the region: Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Jordan, Egypt, Lebanon, Iraq, Turkey, Israel.