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It seems like there's another factor of altitude or maybe humidity that makes a difference. In my experience, Atlanta is like you describe - a handful of stars
by planteen 9y ago
It seems like there's another factor of altitude or maybe humidity that makes a difference. In my experience, Atlanta is like you describe - a handful of stars and planets. But in Denver, which is colored the same as Atlanta, I can easily make out Orion for example this time of year.
- dylan604 9y agoAltitude and humidity definitely play a factor in the seeing clarity. There's a reason the really big telescopes are built on top of mountains. The thinner the air, the less atmospheric distortion. The current favorite location for observatories is the Atacama Desert in Chile. Extremely high altitude and humidity in the 0%-1% range. I'd guess only Hubble gets better views. Sea level beach locations are horrible for imaging with the ocean mist and humidity. However, visually, watching the stars rise/sink into the horizon of the ocean is one of my favorite sites for just watching. The power of ocean waves and the enormous sky just helps put into perspective our place in the universe.