Best Time to Photograph the Stars Over Merzouga

Erg Chebbi sits far enough from any large city that light pollution is essentially a non-issue — on a clear, moonless night, the Milky Way is visible to the naked eye, not just through a lens. Getting a good photo of it is less about equipment and more about timing and a few basic settings.

Time it around the moon, not the calendar

The single biggest factor is moonlight — a bright moon washes out faint stars the same way a streetlight does. The days around the new moon (roughly a 4-5 day window either side of it) give you the darkest, most star-dense sky. Moon phases shift every month, so rather than fixing on a specific date, check a moon phase calendar or app for your actual travel dates and aim to be at camp within that window if star photography matters to you. A partial moon isn't a dealbreaker — it just means fewer faint stars and a brighter foreground, which some photographers actually prefer.

Best season

Spring and autumn combine clear skies with comfortable night temperatures for standing outside with a camera. Winter skies are often the clearest of all, but nights at the dunes get genuinely cold — worth it if you're prepared, less so if you're not. Summer skies are usually clear too, but the heat of the day fading slowly into the evening makes for a less comfortable session.

Simple phone settings that work

• Use night mode. Most recent phones (iPhone Night mode, Android's equivalent) handle low light automatically — let the phone take several seconds per shot rather than fighting it with manual settings.
• Keep the phone still. A small travel tripod is ideal, but propping it against a bag or a dune ridge works too — any shake blurs a long-exposure night shot.
• Turn off flash and zoom. Flash does nothing at this distance, and digital zoom just magnifies noise — shoot wide and crop later if needed.
• Use the self-timer. Even pressing the shutter button can shake the phone enough to blur the shot — a 3-second timer avoids it entirely.

Where to stand

Move away from the camp's own lights and fire — even a short walk over the nearest dune ridge makes a real difference. Facing away from camp, toward open desert, gives you the darkest patch of sky and the cleanest shot. Ask your guide before wandering off after dark; they'll know a safe, nearby spot with a clear, unobstructed view.