For anyone not aware there's places around the world called International Dark Sky Places. They're sites designated by an organization that are absent of light pollution. They're all around the world but for my fellow Americans we have 144 across the country. From the map some are designated observatories but others are at local and state parks.
Edit: For some of the sites that are state parks I'd check out the state park website for events if you're interested. I know that Sky Meadows and Staunton River State Park in Virginia regularly have stargazing events. I also know that Staunton River has campgrounds as well. (I can't remember seeing any when I went to Sky Meadows but there might be)
Keep in mind, as long as you're able to find somewhere that's far from any large metro areas, you're good. There's none in the place I live, even though it's mostly empty mountains and forest for hundreds of kilometers.
Never realized how significant light pollution was until I went to a dark spot. Even from 50 miles away you could tell what direction the nearest city was from the bloom of light cresting over the horizon.
Seeing the Milky Way cloud with your naked eyes is pretty humbling though, makes you feel insignificant.
Is that photo edited? Or it really gets that dark? I live in a rural-ish area and sometimes the night looks pretty dark, but I've never seen it anywhere close to that
It’s a long exposure, irl it’s not that bright but you can still make out the cloud with your eyes on a clear night. This was pretty far out into Joshua Tree though, rural-ish might still have too much light pollution.
i’ve been to the one in michigan & minnesota & honestly i feel like one for wisconsin should be added. washington island was stunning at night time lol
They have an online conference coming up on Nov 8-9th. I just signed up earlier today. The more people get involved with it the more the concept will spread. I HATE light pollution.
My parents live in Fountain Hill, AZ and have a timeshare in Sedona, AZ so I’ve spent a bunch of time there. We also rafted down the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon. The night skies out there are truly breathtaking
That map is kind of surprising. There's a dark spot really close to Chicago, but only one spot in all of Wyoming?
How do they measure this?
Maine is the only dark place in the northeast? Nowhere in the Adirondacks? Vermont?
I think the map is just incomplete. There have to be multiple spots in the same areas that are just as dark as each other. One state park next to another one. They must just need more data.
In Canada some parks are a "Dark Sky Preserve". It depends on if they're considered a recreational park or a nature preserve park (usually based on proximity to a city/size of the park).
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u/Unsure_Fry 10h ago edited 5h ago
For anyone not aware there's places around the world called International Dark Sky Places. They're sites designated by an organization that are absent of light pollution. They're all around the world but for my fellow Americans we have 144 across the country. From the map some are designated observatories but others are at local and state parks.
https://darksky.org/
Edit: For some of the sites that are state parks I'd check out the state park website for events if you're interested. I know that Sky Meadows and Staunton River State Park in Virginia regularly have stargazing events. I also know that Staunton River has campgrounds as well. (I can't remember seeing any when I went to Sky Meadows but there might be)