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Rule Dark Skies

Ortahisar - Dark Skies - Cappadocia

Ortahisar, Nevşehir Province, Türkiye

Moonless nights with crystal-clear skies for deep-sky photography

Upcoming Opportunities

When all conditions match, PhotoWeather marks an opportunity window.

Times shown in Europe/Istanbul
Next opportunity
Pristine Dark Skies (pristine)
Ortahisar
Tomorrow · 23:00–02:00 · 3h window
Medium confidence
43%
🌛Moon Altitude-7.8-10°
☁️Total Cloud Coverage2.3-2.5%
starry-night weather icon
Pristine Dark Skies (pristine)
Ortahisar
Tue, Apr 7 · 20:41–01:00
🌛Moon Altitude:-50.2--7.1°
Medium

What this forecast looks for

Plain-language explanation from the rule

This forecast identifies optimal conditions for astrophotography in Cappadocia's rural areas, where minimal light pollution combines with surreal fairy chimney formations and ancient rock-cut architecture. We track moon phase, cloud cover, atmospheric transparency, and light pollution to predict when Milky Way photography captures this geological wonderland under pristine night skies.

While Göreme town itself has some light pollution from tourism, Cappadocia's rural valleys and outlying villages maintain relatively dark skies. The combination of fairy chimneys, cave dwellings, underground cities, and dramatic rock formations provides unique foreground elements for nightscape photography.

What makes Cappadocia astrophotography special:

  • Fairy chimney silhouettes - Iconic rock formations create otherworldly foregrounds under star fields and Milky Way
  • Rock citadel views - Uçhisar Castle and Ortahisar fortress offer elevated positions for 360-degree dark sky access
  • Ancient architecture - Selime Monastery and rock-cut churches provide dramatic carved-stone foregrounds under stars
  • Underground mysteries - Derinkuyu and other underground city entrances add narrative depth to night compositions

Selime Monastery carved into volcanic rock offers one of Cappadocia's most dramatic astrophotography locations—the massive rock-cut cathedral facade under the Milky Way creates compositions mixing human history with cosmic scale. Uçhisar Castle from surrounding valleys provides the iconic Cappadocia silhouette under stars, especially striking during new moon. Love Valley's distinctive formations become even more surreal under starlight, their shapes silhouetted against the Milky Way core. Ortahisar citadel surrounded by fairy chimneys offers elevated dark-sky access away from Göreme's lights. Çavuşin's abandoned cliff village takes on haunting beauty under moonlight or stars. Rose Valley's formations can be light-painted for foreground detail against star backgrounds. New moon periods are ideal for Milky Way core visibility. Summer offers the Milky Way core prominently, while winter provides darker skies and clearer atmosphere.

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72-hour requirements breakdown

What passed or failed, hour by hour
8matching hours in the next 83 hoursJump to next match
OR logic: one branch per group is enough
Meets requirement
Misses requirement
Time
Europe/Istanbul
Astronomical Night
Any
Total Cloud Coverage
≤ 20.0%
Visibility
≥ 12000.0m
Precipitation Chance
≤ 10.0%
Moon Illumination
OR1·B1
≤ 35.0%
Moon Altitude
OR1·B2
≤ 10.0°
Sun, Apr 5
08:00✕5%24134m79%89%-4.2°
09:00✕5%24134m86%89%-15°
10:00✕6.4%20722m99%89%-26°
11:00✕77%15335m99%89%-37°
12:00✕85%5581m99%89%-49°
13:00✕92%5541m99%89%-60°
14:00✕97%14640m99%89%-69°
15:00✕92%12434m99%89%-75°
16:00✕100%15915m74%89%-72°
17:00✕96%22040m48%89%-63°
18:00✕100%22557m22%89%-52°
19:00✕100%21727m22%89%-41°
20:00✓100%24135m22%89%-29°
21:00✓98%24135m22%89%-19°
22:00✓91%24134m15%89%-8°
23:00✓97%24134m7.4%89%1.8°
Mon, Apr 6
24:00✓98%24135m0%89%10°
01:00✓51%24135m0%89%18°
02:00✓71%24135m0%89%23°
03:00✓83%24134m0%82%26°
04:00✓43%24135m0%82%26°
05:00✕5.5%24135m0%82%23°
06:00✕5%24135m0%82%18°
07:00✕5%24135m0%82%10°
08:00✕5%24134m0%82%1.6°
09:00✕5%24134m0%82%-8.2°
10:00✕8.9%24135m7.4%82%-19°
11:00✕68%24134m15%82%-30°
12:00✕92%24134m22%82%-41°
13:00✕75%24134m48%82%-52°
14:00✕38%24135m74%82%-63°
15:00✕6.3%24134m100%82%-73°
16:00✕13%24134m67%82%-78°
17:00✕55%24135m33%82%-72°
18:00✕61%24134m0%82%-62°
19:00✕20%24135m7.4%82%-51°
20:00✓5%24134m15%82%-40°
21:00✓2.1%24134m22%82%-29°
22:00✓2.3%24135m15%82%-18°
23:00✓2.3%24135m7.4%82%-7.8°
Tue, Apr 7
24:00✓2.3%24134m0%82%1.6°
01:00✓2.5%24135m0%82%10°
02:00✓5%24135m0%82%17°
03:00✓5%24135m0%75%21°
04:00✓12%24135m0%75%24°
05:00✕7%24134m0%75%23°
06:00✕4.6%24135m0%75%20°
07:00✕2.6%24134m0%75%15°
08:00✕5%24134m0%75%7.5°
09:00✕5%24134m0%75%-1.3°
10:00✕5%24134m0%75%-11°
11:00✕5%24135m0%75%-21°
12:00✕4.9%24134m0%75%-32°
13:00✕5%24135m0%75%-44°
14:00✕5%24135m0%75%-55°
15:00✕25%24135m0%75%-66°
16:00✕83%24135m0%75%-76°
17:00✕95%24134m0%75%-79°
18:00✕79%24134m0%75%-72°
19:00✕3.2%24134m0%75%-61°
20:00✓0.7%24134m0%75%-50°
21:00✓0.5%24134m0%75%-39°
22:00✓0%24135m0%75%-28°
23:00✓0%24135m0%75%-17°
Wed, Apr 8
24:00✓0%24135m0%75%-7.1°
01:00✓74%24134m17%75%2.2°
02:00✓100%24135m33%75%10°
03:00✓100%24135m50%66%17°
04:00✓99%24135m67%66%21°
05:00✕98%24135m83%66%23°
06:00✕97%24135m100%66%22°
07:00✕98%24135m81%66%19°
08:00✕99%24135m62%66%13°
09:00✕100%24135m43%66%5.8°
10:00✕100%16603m51%66%-3°
11:00✕100%9071m59%66%-13°
12:00✕100%1539m66%66%-23°
13:00✕100%1057m77%66%-34°
14:00✕100%575m88%66%-45°
15:00✕100%94m99%66%-57°
16:00✕100%8107m89%66%-68°
17:00✕100%16121m79%66%-77°
18:00✕100%24135m70%66%-79°
How to read: colored cells show whether each predicate requirement is met; highlighted rows mean the full rule matched (an opportunity). For OR groups, only one branch is required, so some OR-branch predicates can be ✕ even in a matching hour.

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