The voyages · 2026–27 season
Four skies worth crossing the planet for.
Every Aphelion expedition is built around a single astronomical promise — a specific thing you will see with your own eyes that almost no one alive has seen. Departures are locked to new-moon windows and capped at eight travelers.
Atacama Deep Field
Atacama Desert, Chile
- Coordinates
- 23.86° S · 67.78° W
- Altitude
- 5,190 m
- Bortle class
- 1
- Duration
- 7 nights
- Season
- Apr — Oct
- From
- $6,400
The driest non-polar desert on Earth. 320 clear nights a year. The Milky Way core rises so bright it casts shadows.
The promise
Naked-eye view of the Magellanic Clouds and the zodiacal light
Night-by-night
Nights 1–2 Acclimatize at 2,400 m
San Pedro base camp. Dark-adaptation training, southern-sky orientation, and your first look through the 20-inch Dobsonian.
Nights 3–5 The Deep Field plateau
Ascend to our private platform at 5,190 m. Three full nights of core-season Milky Way, Eta Carinae, and the Coalsack — skies measured at 21.9 mag/arcsec².
Nights 6–7 ALMA & descent
Daytime visit to the ALMA observatory array, then a final low-altitude night dedicated to astrophotography with our guides.
Lofoten Aurora Line
Lofoten Islands, Norway
- Coordinates
- 68.15° N · 13.61° E
- Altitude
- Sea level
- Bortle class
- 2
- Duration
- 6 nights
- Season
- Sep — Mar
- From
- $5,200
Above the Arctic Circle, between granite peaks and open ocean. When the solar wind arrives, the whole sky ignites.
The promise
Overhead aurora corona during solar maximum — this cycle peaks now
Night-by-night
Nights 1–2 Reine rorbu basecamp
Historic fishermen's cabins on the water. Aurora physics briefing, KP-index reading, and camera setup with our resident forecaster.
Nights 3–5 The chase
Mobile nights. We move by van and boat to wherever the cloud gaps and geomagnetic data point — beaches, fjord mouths, mountain passes.
Night 6 The quiet sky
A no-camera night. Just eyes, reclined chairs, and the slow choreography of the corona directly overhead.
NamibRand Sky Reserve
NamibRand, Namibia
- Coordinates
- 25.02° S · 16.01° E
- Altitude
- 1,200 m
- Bortle class
- 1
- Duration
- 8 nights
- Season
- May — Sep
- From
- $7,100
Africa's first International Dark Sky Reserve. Red dunes by day; by night, a sky so dark the airglow itself is visible.
The promise
Gegenschein — sunlight backscattered from interplanetary dust, visible to almost no living person
Night-by-night
Nights 1–3 Dune camp orientation
Private reserve camp among the red dunes. Southern constellations, star-age storytelling with San community astronomers.
Nights 4–6 The darkness practicum
Progressive dark adaptation to 40+ minutes. Airglow, gegenschein, and counting to magnitude 7.8 with your own eyes.
Nights 7–8 Deep-sky imaging
Two dedicated nights on our fixed pier rigs — Omega Centauri, the Sculptor Galaxy, and 47 Tucanae in full resolution.
Haleakalā High Station
Maui, Hawaiʻi
- Coordinates
- 20.71° N · 156.25° W
- Altitude
- 3,055 m
- Bortle class
- 2
- Duration
- 5 nights
- Season
- Year-round
- From
- $4,800
Above the inversion layer, the clouds become a floor. Both celestial hemispheres visible from one summit.
The promise
Sunset-to-sunrise 'crater vigil' above a sea of clouds
Night-by-night
Nights 1–2 Upcountry acclimation
Kula lodge at 1,200 m. Pacific navigation traditions with a Hawaiian wayfinding practitioner — how the sky was a map.
Nights 3–4 Summit vigil
Haleakalā summit after the day visitors leave. Private permit hours inside the crater rim, horizon to horizon.
Night 5 The ocean sky
A final night at sea level on a dark east-shore beach — the Milky Way rising straight out of the Pacific.
On every voyage
Included, always.
Astronomer lead
A working or research-trained astronomer on every departure, plus a certified wilderness guide.
Full instrument kit
20-inch Dobsonian, tracked imaging rig, stabilized binoculars, zero-gravity recliners — shipped ahead.
All ground logistics
Lodging, meals, in-country transport, permits, and park fees from the moment you land.
Weather insurance
If clouds take more than a third of your nights, you get 50% credit toward any future departure.
Photo delivery
Our guides shoot alongside you; every traveler leaves with a processed set of the group's best frames.
Carbon accounting
Full offset of expedition ground operations plus a 2× multiplier on your international flights.