Stargazing Tourists Flock to Africa’s Darkest Place

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

The Namib Desert on Africa’s southwest coast is one of a number of remote “International Dark Sky Reserves” drawing stargazers in search of a celestial safari. Many lodges have bought research-grade telescopes and hired live-in astronomers to try to lure tourists.

“Most people come here for the other activities, visiting the dunes or the nature reserve where you see all the wildlife. This is kind of a bonus,” said Misha Vickas, formerly a guide at a public observatory in Sydney, Australia, but now a resident at the &Beyond Sossusvlei Desert Lodge.

During the day, the Namib’s copper, red and yellow dunes and mountains glow blindingly, befitting the world’s oldest desert. But in the night sky, Mars’ red glow, Magellanic Clouds — dwarf galaxies outside our own — and assorted gaseous nebulae all are visible.

“The sky is particularly good to look at here, because the Milky Way, which is the main part of our galaxy, is usually very high overhead,” meaning light refraction is at a minimum, Vickas said. “There is a lot to look at.”

In 2012, the NamibRand Nature Preserve, a sliver of the central Namib the size of Mauritius was named Africa’s first Dark Sky Reserve by the U.S.-based International Dark-Sky Association. Similar sites include Aoraki Mackenzie on New Zealand’s South Island and the Iveragh Peninsula on Ireland’s southwest coast. Hawaii and Chile also are renowned astro-tourism hot spots.

In the sky over the Namib, Venus and Jupiter shine bright. The Namib’s good weather and ultradry atmosphere make for clear nights and transparent air all the way to the horizon. Across almost half of the Earth, stars are obscured by man-made light pollution.

“NamibRand is located in one of the darkest accessible places that remain on Earth,” said John Barentine of the International Dark-Sky Association. “It is as close as you get to the way the world was long ago, before the invention and proliferation of artificial lights.”