Where in Malaysia has clear dark skies?

[enewmen]

I'm actually very disappointed with myself.
I used to live in southern California and had access to some of the best dark skies in the World. I just didn't know enough back then to use it.

[Mariner]

I'm actually very disappointed with myself.
I used to live in southern California and had access to some of the best dark skies in the World. I just didn't know enough back then to use it.

Make the most of what we have instead of dwelling in the past and dealing with regrets.

[starfinder]

Many of us have repeatedly experienced excellent skies in Johor. There are many light domes on the horizon, esp in the south due to the approx 7m population of the Singapore-Johor Bahru conurbation. And the regions near the horizon are mostly muted or obscured by distant low-level bands of clouds. But apart from that, you can enjoy excellent views of the heavens (clear and dark skies) above about 25 degrees from the horizon.

I myself have seen the wonderous spread of the Milky Way arcing wide across the sky in many places in Johor in the past 12+ years, including at Telok Sari (in Mersing district in NE Johor) just last week, Sedili north (at the Tanjung Sutera resort in east coast Johor) to a lesser extent, at south of Sedili at the place which I had dubbed Sedili South Centauri (not sure if that site is still open), and at the Kahang Organic Rice Eco Farm in central Johor. You could search this forum for past trip reports on these places. (There may also be other places in Johor which I have not been to enough to describe properly.)

The advantage we have at our tropical latitudes is that we can view both the southern and northern sections of the Milky Way and see the central bulge in the Sagittarius region very high up in the sky. The main thing we miss seeing from Johor are the Magellanic Clouds and the Coal Sack, due to the southern light dome from Singapore-JB. But hey, that prized DSO, the mother-of-all globular clusters, the class-above-the-rest, that splendour of the south, Omega Centauri, fortunately goes high up enough here to escape that light dome.

I think there is something special about the skies in Johor, that when it's good it can be really good. For example, many of us have seen the dark rifts in the Milky Way as high contrast objects, i.e. contrasting against the milky white clouds. Perhaps it's the transparency and steady seeing due to the tropical weather.

The problem is, however, that it's more often than not cloudy and yes, there is often also the high altitude haze you mentioned, again due to the tropical location. But that haze actually seems to clear up as the night progresses, and so the situation at night is much better I think than it would seem from a day time view of the sky.

In summary, I think we (or should I more accurately say, they in Johor), are quite fortunate to have often very rewarding skies. I repeat, when it's good it can be really good.

The above description is from the perspective of a mostly visual observer. I would leave it to others to comment on conditions for astro photography in Johor. Also, I don't have much experience with the skies elsewhere in Peninsula Malaysia, so I can't describe that either.

So there you go, pls proceed with building the dream observatory in Johor. Real estate in Singapore is way over-priced: everyone here needs to be a millionaire!

[kimo]

sorry, it wasn't relevant so deleted some part.

Don’t be disappointed, whatever you have right now, just try to enjoy it as much as you can.

[cloud_cover]

The light dome out of Singapore is definitely something amazing. On flights at night you know when you're coming near Singapore, even out at the edge of the riau islands (More than 100km) above 30K feet you can see the horizon getting visibly brighter. In fact, from that vantage point you can clearly see the "dome shape".
Still, at least there are reasonably dark sites within easy drive/train from Singapore.
Check with Gary - He knows a place in Bekok where there is a hostel (a bit run down, I heard) but accessible by train and foot so you don't even need a car to get there (a 2 hr ride from the Woodlands station to Bekok Station [N2.295339,E103.129872] and as long as you're not bringing a whole observatory, you should be able to handle your equipment). The train ticket is amazingly cheap, compared to tolls and petrol.... Food's also good

[joachim.ong]

Hey anyone can recommend obs sights around Kota Tinggi area or slightly further north? Wanted to go to the Sedili resort (Tg Sutera) over the June new moon weekend but they seem like they are fully booked. Anyone has any other resorts to suggest? Also anyone going up to Malaysia over the 7/6-9/6 weekend? Maybe can join in

[starfinder]

Hey anyone can recommend obs sights around Kota Tinggi area or slightly further north? Wanted to go to the Sedili resort (Tg Sutera) over the June new moon weekend but they seem like they are fully booked. Anyone has any other resorts to suggest? Also anyone going up to Malaysia over the 7/6-9/6 weekend? Maybe can join in

Hi, I did a Google search and found this place, the Sedili Damai Resort:
http://sedilidamairesort.blogspot.sg/p/facilities.html

They say that they are located at Kampung Sedili Kechil. I've been to that kampung/village before, which is at the southern end of Telok Mahkota (aka Jason's Bay), but have not seen this 'resort'. About 1hr 15 mins (roughly 90-100km) drive from Johor Bahru customs checkpoint.

You can find this location on Google maps with a search on 'Kampung Sedili Kechil'.

Anyone seen this resort before? How is it like? They seem to have quite wide open grounds. That region is quite rural.

[cataclysm]

Hi Gavin, not too long ago I was with Elton & Remus and we did explore that resort in day time while en route back to Singapore from Mersing. If I am not wrong the resort is located near the mouth of the river at Sedili Kechil. It looks promising at first, but it is located on a low ground , below a main bridge that spand the river. There are lamp posts on the bridge, likely to light up at night.

[cloud_cover]

The bridge is indeed well lit

[joachim.ong]

Thanks for the help on searching but anyway I found a resort further north near Mersing at Air Papan. Not sure if any of you guys have heard of it before - Air Papan Beach Resort. No idea how it will be but going up there this weekend. Haha. Anyone been there before?