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I think the first time I've witnessed the Milky Way was only 3 years ago at 27. Ever since than I'd often grab my DSLR and drive a couple of hours in the middle

by sakopov 10y ago

I think the first time I've witnessed the Milky Way was only 3 years ago at 27. Ever since than I'd often grab my DSLR and drive a couple of hours in the middle of the night outside the city limits to shoot the stars. Quite frankly, unless you live close to a large city like NYC, you're likely 30 minutes to 1 hour away from a decent location to observe the Milky Way. You're probably not going to see it in its full glory as you would at the Grand Canyon, but it would still be a memorable sight. If you're interested in chasing the Milky Way, check the light pollution map [1] to find some dark spots around your area and then head over to Clear Dark Sky [2] to check weather and visibility conditions. Also, if you're Android or iPhone user, check out Star Walk 2 [3] to help locate the Milky Way (and a ton of other neat stuff!) when you're on site. [1] http://darksitefinder.com/maps/world.html http://darksitefinder.com/maps/world.html [2] http://www.cleardarksky.com/csk/ http://www.cleardarksky.com/csk/ [3] http://vitotechnology.com/star-walk-2-guide-sky-night-day.html http://vitotechnology.com/star-walk-2-guide-sky-night-day.ht...

Ultimatt 10y ago
Not in the UK. More like 6 hours to get somewhere in Scotland or Wales thats not populated at relatively high density. Even then ive never seen the milkyway apart from on a greek island in the middle of nowhere. The UK is as denseley populated as the densest New York state in the USA. Europe is very different to the USA on what the impact of a hundred years of industrialisation has meant.
- onion2k 10y ago
  That's not really true. There are a fairly large number of "Dark Sky Discovery Sites" where there are laws controlling the amount of light pollution, and where you can see the Milky Way really well. You're probably not more than an hour or two from one, and a few hours from a "Milky Way Class" site. I'm fortunate enough to live quite near the Kielder Park International Dark Sky Zone. There's a map here: http://www.darkskydiscovery.org.uk/dark-sky-discovery-sites/map.html http://www.darkskydiscovery.org.uk/dark-sky-discovery-sites/...
  - Brakenshire 10y ago
    They've got a 'milky way class' site about 5 miles from Croydon, good luck with that! I applaud the people who set up this site and map, but they should be a bit more honest that going to a special event in a park isn't going to eliminate the continuous orange glow which exists anywhere within 50 miles of London, let alone allow you see the sort of sky that's visible in really remote locations. I'm sure Kielder would be a great place to go, though. I'd love to go to Kielder Observatory.

by sakopov 10y ago

Ultimatt 10y ago

Not in the UK. More like 6 hours to get somewhere in Scotland or Wales thats not populated at relatively high density. Even then ive never seen the milkyway apart from on a greek island in the middle of nowhere. The UK is as denseley populated as the densest New York state in the USA. Europe is very different to the USA on what the impact of a hundred years of industrialisation has meant.

onion2k 10y ago
That's not really true. There are a fairly large number of "Dark Sky Discovery Sites" where there are laws controlling the amount of light pollution, and where you can see the Milky Way really well. You're probably not more than an hour or two from one, and a few hours from a "Milky Way Class" site. I'm fortunate enough to live quite near the Kielder Park International Dark Sky Zone. There's a map here: http://www.darkskydiscovery.org.uk/dark-sky-discovery-sites/map.html http://www.darkskydiscovery.org.uk/dark-sky-discovery-sites/...
- Brakenshire 10y ago
  They've got a 'milky way class' site about 5 miles from Croydon, good luck with that! I applaud the people who set up this site and map, but they should be a bit more honest that going to a special event in a park isn't going to eliminate the continuous orange glow which exists anywhere within 50 miles of London, let alone allow you see the sort of sky that's visible in really remote locations. I'm sure Kielder would be a great place to go, though. I'd love to go to Kielder Observatory.