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Mitzpe Ramon Stargazing

Stargazing in Mitzpe Ramon / Mitzpe Ramon Stargazing

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The night-sky mysteries

From the dawn of time people were looking at the night sky with amazement and awe. The beauty and mystery of the night-sky on its' many stars, had fascinated people for generation on generations, pushing them into speculating, making stories and investigating the stars. Story tellers laid a rich ground for myths and legends and stargazing laid the basis for the science of astronomy. The night-sky often gives us a perspective of how small we are in the vast universe surrounding us. We look above asking ourselves what is out there, which and what is every shining star we see, and are there life outside our comfortable planet Earth. Science with the help of amateur astronomy (stargazing) gave us answers to some of these questions.

Stargazing in Mitzpe Ramon area

The Makhtesh Ramon crater natural reserve, in the Negev desert of southern Israel, has been recently recognized as the first International Dark Sky Park in the middle-east. Mitzpe Ramon is the most isolated "community settlement" (small town) in Israel and is located at a altitude of 860m. For these reasons Mitzpe Ramon and the area surrounding it, enjoys low levels of light pollution and the night sky can be clearly observed. In-fact the single one Israeli stars-observatory, is located in Mitzpe Ramon, exactly due those reasons. In recent years the town of Mitzpe Ramon is taking measurements to further reduce light pollution and many astronomy and stargazing events are taking place in its' vicinity. Mitzpe Ramon stargazing is a great expirience.

The highlight of the Mitzpe Ramon stargazing activities is taking place at each August in the peak of the Persides meteor shower - then some of the town lights are turned off. For all these reasons and for the additional desert beauty, peace and quiet, stargazing in the Ramon crater is very much recommended.

Telescope Mitzpe Ramon

Desert Stargazing in the Ramon Crater

Going down into the Makhtesh Ramon crater, a geological wonder on its' own, we can already observe the silent beautiful desert scenery below and the clear night sky stretching above. On site your guide and telescope/s will be waiting for you with a mat blankets and mattresses for comfortable stars watching. Upon your request more telescopes, a fire, tea/coffee and snacks can also be added. Around the fire with a warm drink and accompanied by your friends and family you can enjoy a memorable desert night outside. With the help of telescopes and trained guides you will have a closer look of the stars and get acquaintance with the night sky. Kids love it and grownups are astonished by it.

Getting Acquaintance with the Night-Sky - Mitzpe Ramon stargazing

During the activity you will get acquaintance with the night sky, talking about the stars constellations, zodiac signs and asterisms. We will tell the story of the history of astronomy, myths and legends of the night sky and have a scientific background of our solar system and beyond. Using the telescopes we will have a look on some of our solar system planets and our own moon. We will also be looking on deep sky objects - star clusters, nebulas, double stars and galaxies.

 

Moon through telescope

Stargazing in Mitzpe Ramon Details

The basic stargazing experience includes a bonefire ,tea\coffee some snacks anf of course a telescope and a guide to explain all about the sky for the price of 1300 ILS.

An extended stargazing experience with  two telescopes is available for the price of 2000 ILS.

Without a telescope but with a bone-fire, tea/coffee, some snacks, and a guide to introduce you with the night sky and desert wild life, the price is 600 ILS.

The experience duration is about 1-2 hours long.

We have robotic Schmidt-Cassegrain, top of the art telescopes. Infact those are the same telescopes used in the internationl space station for observetions of Erath. The exact type of telescopes are 11" and 9.25" CPC 1100 GPS (XLT) Computerized Telescope.

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    " Amateur astronomy (Star-Gazing ) is a hobby whose participants enjoy observing or imaging celestial objects in the sky using the unaided eye, binoculars, or telescopes. Even though scientific research may not be their primary goal, some amateur astronomers make contributions to the science of astronomy... Most amateurs are beginners or hobbyists, while others have a high degree of experience in astronomy and may often assist and work alongside professional astronomers. Many astronomers have studied the sky throughout history in an amateur framework... Some just look at the sky using nothing more than their eyes or binoculars, but more dedicated amateurs often use portable telescopes or telescopes situated in their private or club observatories"

Wikipedia

Stargazing in Mitzpe Ramon, Stargazing Mitzpe Ramon,  Stargazing in Israel, Activities in Mitzpe Ramon