Astrophotography in Namibia: NamibRand, the Khomas Highland and the Astrofarms

Namibia is one of the emptiest countries on Earth, and that is the whole case for it. Outside Windhoek and a few coastal towns there is very little artificial light, the interior is high and dry, and the southern sky’s best objects pass overhead.

It is also a country where amateur astronomers keep observatories of their own, so some of what you find there was built for imaging rather than for general tourism. This guide covers the certified reserve and the high ground south-west of Windhoek.

NamibRand Nature Reserve

Africa’s first International Dark Sky Reserve, certified in 2012. NamibRand is one of the largest private nature reserves in Africa, about 2,022 square kilometres in the southwest Namib Desert, and DarkSky International describes it as one of the naturally darkest places on Earth that can still be reached.

At the core of the reserve, the Namib Desert Environmental Education Trust (NaDEET) Centre runs programmes about the Earth and the sky, and its overnight guests can sleep in open-air units with the sky above their beds.

Suits: wide-field Milky Way and zodiacal light over dunes, and the darkest certified sky on the continent within reach of a normal holiday.

The Gamsberg and the Hakos astrofarm

Hakos Astro Guest Farm, run by the Straube family, sits in sight of the Gamsberg, and the International Amateur Observatory (IAS) keeps its telescopes on the farm at 1,852 metres. The IAS lists 20-inch Cassegrain, Newtonian and Ritchey-Chrétien instruments for its members, and members can bring their own instruments to the external piers.

That is the main difference between Namibia and most dark-sky destinations: there are places where telescopes and piers are already waiting, so you can travel lighter.

Suits: long deep-sky integrations over several nights, and anyone who does not want to camp.

The Khomas Highland

The H.E.S.S. gamma-ray telescopes stand in the Khomas Highland about 100 km south-west of Windhoek, at 1,800 metres.

The telescopes are a research site, not a visitor attraction, but they show where the high ground starts, within a short drive of the capital.

Suits: a first night or two near Windhoek, before heading further south.

Planning a trip

The southern winter, from May to September, is when the Milky Way’s centre is high in the evening and the nights are longest. Nights at altitude can be cold, so bring layers for yourself and spare batteries for the camera.

Distances are long and fuel stops are far apart. Plan driving by day; wildlife on the road at night is a real hazard.

What to shoot from Namibia

The Large and Small Magellanic Clouds and the Tarantula Nebula, the Carina Nebula, Omega Centauri, 47 Tucanae and the dark lanes of the Milky Way around the Southern Cross. Under a sky this dark, dust lanes and faint outer nebulosity show up in single frames that would need hours at home.

Processing what you bring home

Akastroid stacks, calibrates and finishes the frames on your laptop, with nothing uploaded, which matters when the farm’s internet is slow. The free download processes three sessions and allows one export, enough to put one Namibian night through and see the result before you fly home. If you buy a licence later, PayPal works for paying from Namibia, with a PayPal account or a debit or credit card.

For long integrations over several nights, how many frames you need helps you decide when a target is done, and dithering and walking noise is worth reading before the first night on the piers.