Astrophotography in Israel: The Ramon Crater Dark Sky Park and the Negev

Where to see the Milky Way in Israel

The best place to see the stars in Israel is the Ramon Crater at Mitzpe Ramon, an International Dark Sky Park two and a half hours south of Tel Aviv, followed by the Negev highlands and the Arava valley. Autumn and spring are the comfortable seasons.

The centre of Israel is one lit coastal strip, and from Tel Aviv or Haifa the sky is bright. The Negev desert is the southern half of the country, though, and in the middle of it is a town that turned its lights down for the sky.

Ramon Crater, Mitzpe Ramon

Makhtesh Ramon is an erosion crater forty kilometres long, and the town of Mitzpe Ramon stands on its rim. The Ramon Crater Nature Reserve was certified as an International Dark Sky Park in 2017, the first in the Middle East, after the town changed its street lighting. There is a visitor centre, guided stargazing, and camping on the crater floor and along the rim.

Suits: nightscapes over the crater, deep-sky work from a protected sky, and anyone who wants facilities with the dark.

The Negev highlands and the Arava

South and west of Mitzpe Ramon the Negev highlands are empty desert with a few kibbutzim and army areas; check the maps for closed zones. The Arava valley, running south to Eilat along the Jordanian border, has dark skies between the settlements and a mountain horizon on both sides. Eilat itself is bright.

Suits: wide Milky Way frames and star trails.

Timing a night

Autumn and spring are the comfortable seasons. Summer nights in the Negev are warm and clear, with the core high; winter nights are cold and sometimes cloudy, and the crater can be windy at any time of year.

What to shoot from Israel

From 29 to 33 degrees north the galactic core stands high in summer, and Scorpius clears the horizon completely. In winter Orion, the Pleiades and the Andromeda Galaxy are high for most of the night.

Processing what you bring home

Akastroid stacks and finishes your frames on your own computer, with nothing uploaded, so a crater night can be processed in Mitzpe Ramon the next morning. The free download processes five sessions and allows two exports, enough for one night all the way through. If you buy a licence later, PayPal works for paying from Israel, 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, Bahrain, Oman, Jordan, Egypt, Lebanon, Iraq, Turkey.