Star gazing tourists and astronomy fans are now making their way through the Namib Desert in Namibia, Africa to witness an amazing celestial safari.

The Namib Desert is the darkest place on Earth where anyone can see the heavens in their celestial glory. Tourists stay at chic hotel lodges in the desert and almost every hotel has a telescope.

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The sky in the Namib looks like an infant night sky since the red glow of Mars and far away dwarf galaxies can all be seen with the naked eye.

The Namib Desert's central area, which is the size of Mauritius, has been transformed into Africa's very first Dark Sky Reserve called the NamibRand.

Other global star gazing sites also include the Aoraki Mackenzie located in New Zealand's South Island and the Iveragh Peninsula located in Ireland's southwest coast. There's also Hawaii and Chile that have become world famous astrotourism spots.

The darkest places in the world are usually the most remote from populated areas, according to John Barentine from the Arizona-based International Dark-Sky Association.

Scientists use the Bortle scale to measure night sky quality.

For example, inner cities rank a nine since bright constellations such as Orion may be faint or almost invisible. Namib's sky is first class and is found on the other end of the scale.

The desert's good weather and dry atmosphere produces the clearest nights since the air is completely transparent towards the horizon.

Namibia only has a population of over two million over an area the size of Pakistan, making it one of the most sparsely populated countries in the world. This is what makes NamibRand the darkest yet most accessible place on the planet suited for the best stargazing experience. 

Astrotourism holidays are trending in Africa, bringing urbanization to many remote areas. Most tourists usually come to the desert for nature reserve tours or trekking dune trails. Stargazing is a wonderful bonus as many people have never looked up using a telescope before, said Misha Vickas, a former guide from the public observatory in Sydney now turned resident at the AndBeyond Sossusvlei Desert Lodge.

A telescope is indeed a bonus in the Namib that one doesn't really need to see the stunning night sky constellations. About half the planet can't see the starry firmament clearly due to the orange glow of light pollution.

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