our galaxy as seen from makhtech-ramon

Makhtech Ramon is a huge erosion valley in the middle of negev desert. Stepping into a desert is really something worth trying, you’ll have the sensation of being invited by nature to shortly visit a place where humans are not really supposed to be.

Already, during daylight, embracing the “crater” as a whole from it’s edge is stunning. The light is strong and tend to blur everything in the distance, but precisely distances ar big : 10k wide 40km long …

Though, the numerous geological variations brought by erosion set an incredible complex map. 300m cliffs on the sides are the only remain of what use to be a dome above. Inside, the intricate patch of colors tells us about black for basalts or even cooked limestones, red for oxyded layers of  lime, sometime up to green for some clays.

makhtesh ramon - click and get lost into it, zoom as much as you can !

makhtesh-ramon - south cliff

The cauldron is inviting you to dive in.

A further step is to have a small nightly walk, without any disturbing light, and possibly without moonlight. The first surprise is that the star’s glow is strong enough to have a slow walk in those rocks. A few second after leaving the camp lights, the surprise is the arch of the milky way. Words from my five years old son : “it’s like fireworks, but suspended !”.

The image above pictures a horizon to horizon mosaic of 15 seconds-long shots, which is of course more than what naked eye can see. It’s somehow close to the seeing of myriad of stars you’ll get when at a remote dark place. Next to the left cliff, you can also find our neighbourg the andromedae galaxy.

Click on the mosaic for full size and more.