AL QUAA DESERT, United Arab Emirates\u00a0\u2014\u00a0The gleaming skyscrapers and brights lights of the United Arab Emirates draw the eyes of all who travel there, a sign of the Arabian Peninsula nation\u2019s rapid, oil-fueled development over the last decades into a major hub for commerce and tourism. <\/p>\n
But something has been lost over that period: a clear vision across nearly all of the country\u2019s inhabited lands of the stars in the night sky that once guided Bedouins across the shifting desert dunes of its vast interior, known as the Empty Quarter. <\/p>\n
A group of volunteers from the Dubai Astronomy Group recently has been helping people reconnect with the sight of stars and the Milky Way by taking them on nighttime excursions to Al Quaa Desert, one of the darkest spots remaining in the Emirates.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt causes us to appreciate our existence in this galaxy,\u201d Sheeraz Awan, the general manager of the astronomy group, said as he guided participants through a weekend view of the stars in late May. <\/p>\n
Light pollution<\/p>\n
The UAE ranks among the world\u2019s most light-polluted countries, along with several other gulf Arab states whose populations largely live in major cities. <\/p>\n
A 2016 scientific study concluded that \u201chumanity has enveloped our planet in a luminous fog\u201d and suggested 99% of the Emirati population could not see the Milky Way from their homes because of artificial lights. <\/p>\n
That illumination ranges from streetlights on roadways to the LED light show thrilling tourists at Dubai\u2019s Burj Khalifa, the world\u2019s tallest building. Abu Dhabi plans to build a $1.7-billion version of the Sphere, the Las Vegas attraction, on its Yas Island. <\/p>\n
In Abu Dhabi, capital of the UAE, authorities have acknowledged the light pollution problem, coming up with a Dark Sky Policy in 2024 on lighting and other issues across its entire emirate. In Dubai, increasingly more buildings have LED displays, and LED billboards have become more common, though it also is home to the Al Qudra Lakes, a rural area with fewer areas of light pollution. Authorities in the emirate did not respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n
Hunting for darkness<\/p>\n
City lights don\u2019t reach Al Quaa Desert.<\/p>\n
The desert is easily reachable by vehicle, about 60 miles southeast of Abu Dhabi along a major highway to the oasis city of Al Ain, then another road south far out into the desert. <\/p>\n
Despite overhead road lights on the stretch known as Razeen Road, with a heavily lit prison along the way, the desert stretches just beyond in total darkness, unburdened by the bright illumination of the city. Razeen Road finally jogs east, and an automatic gate opens to allow drivers onto an unpaved road leading deeper into the desert. <\/p>\n
Miles farther along, past those camping in the dunes and enjoying some of the last good overnight weather before the UAE\u2019s sweltering summertime heat arrives, the astronomers gathered dozens of people to see the stars. <\/p>\n
They weren\u2019t alone. Several laborers beneath heavy blankets slept nearby in the back of a pickup truck under the stars. Under one small LED lamp signaling where to park, a camel spider \u2014 formally known as Solifugae \u2014 ate another camel spider after a long struggle. The creature ran briefly toward a journalist and a volunteer before the vibrations of an approaching car sent it scurrying back into the darkness. Everyone around then carefully watched their steps. <\/p>\n
Staring at the stars<\/p>\n
On carpets laid out for the weekend excursion in May, families speaking Arabic, English and Russian looked up at the sky. The half-moon slowly set over the horizon. Soon, the outline of the Milky Way could be seen by the naked eye. <\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you look toward the east, can you see that faint cloud?\u201d Awan asked. \u201cThat, ladies and gentlemen, is the Milky Way.\u201d<\/p>\n
He used a laser point to highlight the array of stars, drawing one woman to exclaim: \u201cAy ye ye!\u201d <\/p>\n
The Dubai Astronomy Group volunteers described this as one of the best times of the year to see the galaxy. Several gasped as they spotted meteors occasionally streaking across the sky, easily visible in the darkness without the interference of urban lights.<\/p>\n
Some gathered around telescopes to look at individual stars. Others lay flat on the cold desert sand, getting tips on how to make their mobile phones take long-exposure pictures to see the galaxy gleaming overhead. Over time, people slowly drifted to their cars and started the drive back to the UAE\u2019s lighted highways and cities. <\/p>\n
For a moment, they had engaged with the night in the same way as Bedouins before them. <\/p>\n
\u201cWhen we look at this Milky Way, we\u2019re kind of involved in an activity, which is not new,\u201d Awan told the stargazers. \u201cIt\u2019s something that people throughout time have been engaged in.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gambrell writes for the Associated Press. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"AL QUAA DESERT, United Arab Emirates\u00a0\u2014\u00a0The gleaming skyscrapers and brights lights of the United Arab Emirates draw the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":511988,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[269],"tags":[3820,221934,24501,19086,18,440,7443,19,99118,17,1029,15543,237,9311,133,221936,11186,221935,3818,65],"class_list":["post-511987","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-environment","tag-abu-dhabi","tag-city-light","tag-desert","tag-dubai-astronomy-group","tag-eire","tag-environment","tag-galaxy","tag-ie","tag-illumination","tag-ireland","tag-milky-way","tag-night-sky","tag-people","tag-road","tag-science","tag-sheeraz-awan","tag-star","tag-total-darkness","tag-uae","tag-world"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/116670474883164029","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/511987","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=511987"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/511987\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/511988"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=511987"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=511987"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=511987"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}