Need help finding real night sky

[SMuser69]

I have to plan a trip to a place within the US that has the least amount of light pollution so someone can see the actual night sky with visible milky way. Am I pretty much locked into going to a national park for this? Or are there still places close enough to modern conveniences that still will allow me to get a very good view of the night sky?

 

[zippypinhead]

The US is a huge place, with a lot of open areas in-between cities. Honestly, all you'd really have to do is drive a little ways out of the cities to get what you're describing, especially in the inland western states. A national park probably would be the best place to get the least light, and I believe the best region of all is the Great Basin area -- Nevada, Utah, northern Arizona, southern Idaho. Here's a site. I'm not sure what modern conveniences you think you'd have to give up by going to a national park, but most parks are well-served by border communities and plenty even have facilities in the parks. The only consideration you'll have to make is driving there, and that's going to be an inevitability in the US, anyway. Otherwise, you wouldn't go wrong by visiting a national park to get a good night sky.

 

[bakersman]

Find an astronomy or telescope forum and ask there -- you'll get tons of excellent advice! If you know the general area where you want to go then there will be local astronomy clubs that can help you out.

LOL or the other thing to do is just go to Flagstaff, AZ -- because of the huge telescope (Lowell observatory) there it's been a 'dark sky' area for decades.

look here for more info, there is a whole organization about dark skies, and Flagstaff is mentioned

http://darksky.org/idsp/communities/flagstaff/

////argh thanks for reminding me that I live in a light-polluted area and need to see some Milky Way soon

 

[AerynShade]

There are huge swaths of the midwest where the Milky Way is easily visible. You don't really have to go that far out of a city.

 

[Ambers Troll]

visible milky way.

A real problem, your best chance is to reduce the amount of atmosphere above you... travel to somewhere of high altitude as well as low light pollution. Somewhere near Bonneville Salt Flats, Utah would be ideal... you can fly in and out easily too (Wendover airport, staying in casino or golf resort).

 

[Bocefish]

The REAL NIGHT SKY is only visible to adults 18 and over that can distinguish what light pollution is.

If you want to plan a trip where the real night sky is visible... Montana, North Dakota, and Alaska is where you should go.

 

[ExcellaExe]

West Texas has some great spots, too. I used to make the drive to the McDonald Observatory back in the day (when I had no sense of what was sane or not) and sometimes would just sit on my car and look up.

 

[KylieJacobs]

Here's a really nice light pollution map. Allows you to zoom in close and is world-wide.

http://darksitefinder.com/maps/world.html

 

[Osmia]

Sort of peripheral, but I was stunned by the eerie beauty of this photo in the NY Times a couple of months ago. It was part of a photo essay on the U.S. Mexican border. The caption reads "A portion of the border fence is visible against the night sky near Harlingen, Tex. on Jan. 26, 2017. (Tamir Kalifa for The New York Times).

Harlingen is in extreme South Texas, not too far from the border. It's a smallish city of 75,000, but the southern tip of Texas (known locally as the "Rio Grande Valley") is dotted with numerous towns and small cities. According to Wikipedia, the area has a population of 1.3 million. The Mexican border cities of Reynosa and Matamoros add another two million or more people to the area. So, the starry sky is at least somewhat visible even in that relatively populated area.

 

[SMuser69]

Thank you @KylieJacobs for that link it really was a massive help. @Ambers Troll I took your suggestion and planned a trip to Utah to check it out first before I bring other people. The flights there are cheap and easy. @Osmia your picture is very nice but I'm looking for much more natural sky than that. I'm hoping to go someplace dark enough to see the Magellanic Clouds with the naked eye.

 

[SaffronBurke]

Sort of peripheral, but I was stunned by the eerie beauty of this photo in the NY Times a couple of months ago. It was part of a photo essay on the U.S. Mexican border. The caption reads "A portion of the border fence is visible against the night sky near Harlingen, Tex. on Jan. 26, 2017. (Tamir Kalifa for The New York Times).

Harlingen is in extreme South Texas, not too far from the border. It's a smallish city of 75,000, but the southern tip of Texas (known locally as the "Rio Grande Valley") is dotted with numerous towns and small cities. According to Wikipedia, the area has a population of 1.3 million. The Mexican border cities of Reynosa and Matamoros add another two million or more people to the area. So, the starry sky is at least somewhat visible even in that relatively populated area.


View attachment 69354

That's what the sky looks like? I feel so cheated that my family's farm is as close to town as it is, we still have so much light pollution out there.

 

[Ambers Troll]

For those interested SMuser was looking for visible 'clouds' like to the right of the car. It really does take the experience to the next level.