Astrophotography in Oman: Sharqiya Sands, Jebel Shams and the Empty Quarter

Where to see the Milky Way in Oman

The best places to see the stars in Oman are the Sharqiya Sands two hours from Muscat, the Jebel Shams plateau at nearly 3,000 metres, and the Empty Quarter beyond Salalah. October to April is the season; the Milky Way core stands overhead in summer.

Oman has the best skies in the Gulf. The country is large, most of it is empty, and the towns are far enough apart that an hour out of Muscat the glow is behind you. There are mountains for altitude, dunes for foregrounds and a coast with nothing out to sea.

Sharqiya Sands

Two hours south-east of Muscat, the Sharqiya Sands, still called the Wahiba Sands on many maps, are the classic Omani dune field. Desert camps run along the northern edge and the dunes go on for a hundred kilometres to the south. Walk a dune or two away from the camp lights and the sky is as dark as it gets at sea level.

Suits: Milky Way over dunes, star trails, and camps that make a long session easy.

Jebel Shams and Jebel Akhdar

Jebel Shams is the highest mountain in Oman, close to three thousand metres, and the plateau below the summit has guesthouses and camping on the edge of the Wadi Ghul canyon. The altitude takes the haze away and the nights are cold enough in winter for a camera to run quietly. Jebel Akhdar, nearby, is lower and has more hotels and more light.

Suits: the sharpest sky in the country for deep-sky work, and canyon foregrounds.

The Rub al Khali in Dhofar

The Empty Quarter reaches into Oman’s south-west, and from Salalah a desert trip north crosses into the largest sand desert in the world. It is far from everything, including help, so it is a trip to make with a guide. Note that Dhofar has its own monsoon, the khareef, which covers Salalah in cloud from June to September.

Suits: the darkest sky in the region, for anyone prepared for a real expedition.

Timing a night

October to April is the season almost everywhere in Oman. Summer on the coast and in the sands is too hot to work at night, and the khareef takes Dhofar out from June to September. The mountains stay usable longer.

What to shoot from Oman

Oman runs from 17 to 26 degrees north, so from Dhofar the southern sky opens further than from anywhere else in the Gulf: Omega Centauri, the Carina Nebula and the Southern Cross in spring, and the galactic core overhead in summer.

Processing what you bring home

Akastroid stacks and finishes your frames on your own computer, with nothing uploaded, so a desert or mountain session can be processed in camp. The free download processes five sessions and allows two exports, enough for one Sharqiya or Jebel Shams night. If you buy a licence later, PayPal works for paying from Oman, 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, Jordan, Egypt, Lebanon, Iraq, Turkey, Israel.