Over the past five years, the Palestinian territories have experienced what could be called an astronomy boom: from the emergence of university clubs and graduate programs in major cities, to the founding of public astronomy organizations, to the development of small-scale, community observatories, a fascination with the interstellar has seized local audiences. Many Palestinian astronomers have speculated that growing geographic and political suffocation in the occupied territories are one reason why the science’s popularity has surged: with Israeli military rule restricting Palestinian movement throughout the West Bank more than ever, astronomy helps bring them to something outside their carceral homeland. As one prominent Palestinian astrophysicist has put it, astronomy can show Palestinians that there is a “beautiful universe for everybody out there” with “no borders.” Set against this backdrop of structural and psychological violence, this paper seeks to understand why—given the obstacles and massive commitment of time and resources—Palestinians are seeking to create and institutionalize a field of astronomy now. What work does studying the galaxy and looking out into the universe do for Palestinians? To ground such broad explorations, this paper focuses on the particular histories, stories, and struggles of Palestine’s largest astronomy club—one located at a major university—in which astronomers are working to direct their scientific research vertically at a time when the Israeli state is working to vertically elevate their forms of surveillance, military arsenal, and sovereignty. This paper, then, recasts the most seemingly benign recreational activities—like stargazing—through the lens of empire and coloniality. In so doing, this paper does not simply (re)tell the story of Palestinian adversity; rather, it shows how studying the vertical in Palestine has produced new educational, scientific, and humanitarian horizons across national borders, offering astronomers and the greater Palestinian population professional and material opportunities—jobs, internships, resources, supplies, equipment, connections, partnerships—that have historically been foreclosed by the Israeli government and the Palestinian Authority. Across these scales, this paper traces the geopolitics of the sky from a Palestinian locale in order to reveal how these vertical dimensions affect sovereignty, mobility, imagination, and possibility on our own planet.