Astrophotography Locations

in the United Arab Emirates

Milky Way photography Locations in the UAE / Stargazing Locations – by Samy Al Olabi

The milky way visibility varies from location to another depending on the conditions mentioned in previous sections , in this section I will demonstrate some specific locations with maps and GPS coordinates. In addition to some small info about each location like the main features of the place and the level of visibility.

The above figure is a light pollution map for UAE , it can clearly demonstrates the light polluted spots and the dark areas.

The 1st location is Near Bab al Shams - 24.810856, 55.242230 ,This location is not far away from Dubai , around 80 kms , its dark enough to see the milky way but the visibility is much affected by the light pollution of the city lights

The 2nd location is at Al Qudra Lakes 24.834980, 55.376352, which is also near Bab al Shams , and the beauty about this location is the foregrounds (water lakes and trees) , but still the light pollution issue can be strongly noticed.

One more location is Hatta 24.783730, 56.114081 and specifically in the areas near Hatta pools and around the 2 main dams in Hatta , there is light pollution but luckily its all coming from the north , west and east . except for the south towards Oman Border which is where the big bulge (Galactic Center ) of the milky way rises and sets.

The darkest area so far in the UAE is Razeen desert 23.525208, 55.010090 and as in the map below , its in the middle of no where and very dark, the problem with this place it is very far , no Telecommunication networks and above all there are no remarkable foregrounds.

Going further south there is Liwa Desert 23.116323, 53.788250 , It is having beautiful sand Dunes , but there is some annoying light pollution.

Finally there are some updates coming soon , stay tuned.