Good AP astrophotography locations around the world

[Elp]

Thought I'd ask the question, if given the opportunity what are people's experiences of doing AP at non native locations around the world such as on a short holiday? Ideally taking and using your own equipment.

Places need to be reasonable to get to with amenities nearby or within driving distance and obviously safe (from people, nature etc).

Can also include stargazing locations but I've specifically titled the thread for AP because of the requirement for a lot more time in the field to complete projects. 

Edited February 18, 2023 by Elp

[mcrowle]

I’ve been trying to include some AP during my holidays for a number of years now, or at least until Covid put a halt to things.

Initially I’d limit myself to a few star trails and the odd landscape astro capture. A couple of times since, though, I’ve also taken a star tracker. In the future I plan to do more AP on my travels, weather-permitting of course. In fact I’ve now booked my first post-Covid holiday, to the Dolomites, around a New Moon.

So far, over several years, I’ve done at least some AP in 2 Swiss Alps locations (Saas Fee and Kandersteg), the Azores, Tenerife and Kranjska Gora in Slovenia, taking the star tracker only to Kandersteg and Tenerife. I’ve also used stays at ski resorts in Finland to photograph aurorae. As well as Tenerife, which was a landscape astrophotography workshop, Saas Fee was particularly successful as 6 nights out of 7 were clear. I’m not sure how typical that is, but apparently it benefits from a rain shadow effect from several directions due to the surrounding mountains!

I don’t drive, but as I’m often staying in small settlements, such as out-of-season ski resorts, I just walk a short way along local footpaths to locations that I’ve scouted in daylight. Tenerife was the exception, but it was a group workshop, with Alyn Wallace, so we travelled together by minibus.

Regards, Mike.

 

Edited February 20, 2023 by mcrowle
Typo

[Elp]

You must have got some excellent landscapes in your images.

[mcrowle]

Yes, great landscapes over the years, though in some locations clear skies were just as limited as at home!

Got to say, though, that while I travel with a tripod and occasionally a star tracker, I've never carried a telescope for overseas AP. No doubt others will have some experience with that if it's what you have in mind.

Regards, Mike.

[Elp]

Ideally I'd like to take my 60mm but practically, I think it's just too much weight. My dslr setup is a similar weight but I can slim that down if I had to to make it more carriable over distance if some trekking was involved.

[mcrowle]

Yes, likewise I have a small refractor that I’ve carried in my kit bag on occasion for imaging close to home. In theory I could take it overseas but would no doubt have to cut back on other kit to compensate for its weight.

Regards, Mike.

[Karl Perera]

Turkey is excellent for clear skies at most times worst in the winter obviously. 

[ollypenrice]

Well, I would have an opinion on this! 

It was on my many cycle tours dotted around the world that I became interested in astronomy and then hatched the idea of moving to somewhere with a dark site. Superb skies can be had in lots of places, not all of them ridiculously remote. In SE France and southern Spain you can be five miles from a shop and have a really dark sky (reaching SQM22.) Being literally on a mountain top is not the best because you look down on all the LP in the region. It's best to be high but in a natural crater of some kind. This also reduces problems from the wind.

In choosing a specific spot, the devil is in the detail. It took me a year to find a house which was not too remote but which didn't have the only street light in a ten kilometre radius right in front of it! I kid you not, I looked at plenty of those...

As for portable gear, Samyang 135/OSC CMOS and one of the small tracking mounts. You can work in very short subs at F2 and undersampled, taking the pressure off the tracking. Widefields benefit most from a dark site where gradients will be kept to a minimum.

Olly

[Elp]

I know, I need to get out more. My nearest dark site (which I personally class as dark, not those graded as dark by local councils which beam skyglow into the atmosphere all around) is around an hour's drive away, which isn't too bad but can sometimes be an issue driving back in the early hours if I've stayed up. But the difference is stark being able to see the slight hint of cloud which is the milky way via eye. I'm sure I'd enjoy the visual experience but something always gnaws at me to setup the second rig for double the data capture.

I think I'm prepared for an abroad venture having made multiple setups which are truly back carriable, and most likely I'd take the Samyang setup as I can trim it down to only the essentials for lightness, it helps that it's an extremely fast system too.

[900SL]

On 18/02/2023 at 17:35, Elp said:

Thought I'd ask the question, if given the opportunity what are people's experiences of doing AP at non native locations around the world such as on a short holiday? Ideally taking and using your own equipment.

Places need to be reasonable to get to with amenities nearby or within driving distance and obviously safe (from people, nature etc).

Can also include stargazing locations but I've specifically titled the thread for AP because of the requirement for a lot more time in the field to complete projects. 

I was going to say 'Saudi' but I'm not sure it ticks all the boxes there

I've been looking at Fuerteventura and El Hierro in the Canaries as possible locations, the eastern side of Fuerteventura is being touted as an astro destination with Bortle 2-3 skies, and there are dedicated astro-observing locations there. El Hierro is very undeveloped

For a rig I'd likely take Samyang 135, 533MC Pro, AsiAir Pro, Fornax LT2 tracker, and a Nikon D610/20mmf1.8 for widefield and general landscape

 

Edited February 24, 2023 by 900SL

[Elp]

On 24/02/2023 at 19:19, 900SL said:

I was going to say 'Saudi' but I'm not sure it ticks all the boxes there

A desert seems ideal other than the sands in the air, drive not too far and you're literally deserted.

[Astroscot2]

A visit to Namibia a number of years ago was the most productive imaging I've ever had and the most amazing skies I've ever seen. Doubt I will get the opportunity to repeat.

 

 

[Elp]

I've been looking at a Namibrand one though at present don't know how I'd book it (everything booked separately?) and for when. Certainly sounds like one of those bucket list excursions and doubly beneficial due to access to southern targets.

[Whirlwind]

What about St Helena if you are looking for something in the Southern Hemisphere but want something a bit "home from home".

Though not the easiest to get to.

[zicklurky]

If you're looking for good Southern skies, I can recommend both South Africa and Namibia. VERY dark skies with fairly predictable weather and similar time zone so no jet lag. I've been to Hakos in Namibia and the skies were unreal. I grew up in South Africa, there are very nice skies outside of the cities. You can even do a trip to Sutherland and visit SALT https://www.salt.ac.za/

[Elp]

Tivoli looks interesting, is there a specific period which is good or anytime?

[Cjg]

Loutro, Crete. 
A tiny village with no roads. You have to take a small or larger boat in and out ( or a strenuous, long hike).

Get up the hill behind the village by the ruined castle. The next stop on the eastern horizon is Libya. 
I went last year with a Star Tracker and Sony Camera. 

It’s a long journey, flying to Crete and then a taxi down to a little port to catch the ferry, but well worthwhile. 
Cachet Travel have ready made holidays there, but not many other companies.

The pic below was the first widefield that I am reasonably pleased with after a number of false starts in the UK. Think a telephoto or short frac would give superb results after midnight. 
Chris

 

Edited March 13, 2023 by Cjg
Typos

[Elp]

7 minutes ago, Cjg said:

pic

That's a great image. Greece has many wonderful choices and I agree, getting there isn't necessarily the most straightforward.

[Cjg]

54 minutes ago, Elp said:

That's a great image. Greece has many wonderful choices and I agree, getting there isn't necessarily the most straightforward.

Thank you, the flight is only 4hrs from Stansted, and the backpack with all the bits was just under the 10 kilo weight limit for carry-on, but at 35 degrees latitude, much better views of the Southern / eastern Milky Way, than home in the UK at 52 degrees.

Good luck, wherever you choose to go. Am hopefully heading to Kithira (Kythira) this year.

Chris

[Roy Foreman]

A few years ago I had a touring holiday in Morocco, North Africa, which included a couple of nights in the Sahara Desert one of which was in a luxury tent in the sand.  The tents were in a fenced compound, so perfectly safe.  I managed to do some simple astrophotography with a Star Adventurer mount on a photo tripod and DSLR.  The lights were turned off at 10pm after which it was so dark you could not see an arms length in front of you, and needed a torch to walk anywhere, or set up the tripod and camera.  The stars and milky way shone undiminished right down to the horizon.  I struggled to identify Polaris, and even the five stars that make up the 'W' of Cassiopia were difficult to distinguish, such was the intensity of the starry background.  Without a doubt the darkest conditions I could ever imagine.

I never saw a solitary cloud, day or night, in the week I was there, just deep blue sky right down to the horizon.  And an interesting conversation with a local 20 year old who had never seen rain and had difficulty understanding the concept of water falling from the sky !

I managed to take an photo of the waning moon just 19 hours from new skimming the tops of the sand dunes in the dawn sky.  I estimate it was less than one degree in altitude.  The whole experience left me feeling very sad at what I had been missing out on living in the UK.

Highly recommended.

[Elp]

Once you've seen unpolluted skies it's difficult to understand why developed lands continue to light pollute without a single considerate thought. Such rich unruined viewing experiences inspire, allows you deep contemplation and stay with you for life.

Edited March 14, 2023 by Elp

[Roy Foreman]

On 14/03/2023 at 19:21, Elp said:

Once you've seen unpolluted skies it's difficult to understand why developed lands continue to light pollute without a single considerate thought. Such rich unruined viewing experiences inspire, allows you deep contemplation and stay with you for life.

So true.