6 ms·

People say this but I've been in like interstates and such and never seen the milky way??

culi 5y ago
Are you making sure to pay attention to the moon cycle? It's important to go at a new moon and definitely not during a full moon
- iso1631 5y ago
  1) Go camp 2) Ensure clear skies 3) Ensure new moon 4) Ensure camp ground is dark 5) Ensure it's warm enough that everyone is happy enough to stay out 6) Ensure it gets dark early enough It's doable, you have to specifically aim for it though
  - gpas 5y ago
    7) leave the phone in the car/tent/pocket Even the dimmest display is far brighter than what you want to see.
  - _hcuq 5y ago
    New moon not totally necessary. Look at moon rise and set times.
- danlugo92 5y ago
  Yeah that could be it, not particularly minding moon cycles when just traveling from one city to the other one.
eindiran 5y ago
Visit the desert, well off any major highway and it will be very low light pollution. The Southwest has a lot of land like this.
- billti 5y ago
  As a 20-something I spent some time in India when backpacking from England to Australia. One of my strongest memories was a safari we did out into the desert on camels, and just laying beneath the night sky. I never would have guessed at that age you can just literally watch satellites go by. I counted about a dozen "shooting stars" before I stopped counting (which is just objects burning up in the atmosphere on entry). The vividness of the clouds of stars was just breathtaking. Never seen anything close to it since.
  - vram22 5y ago
    Great story thanks for sharing. I am from India, and having heard your story, I may try that in the future. Which specific place did you do this in? Near some town or village in Rajasthan? AFAIK that's the only Indian state that has desert (the Thar desert), except for maybe bordering Gujarat state.
tejtm 5y ago
Eyes have to dark adapt, No light, seriously; NO WHITE LIGHT. Takes about 45 minutes to be fully adapted one little flash and you start over. This is why there are pages out there on astronomy/star party etiquette. https://duckduckgo.com/?q=+star+party+etiquette&t=ffsb&ia=web https://duckduckgo.com/?q=+star+party+etiquette&t=ffsb&ia=we...
jazzyjackson 5y ago
Have to get well off the interstate. I thought I would see some good stars going across Nevada but despite a hundred miles between towns there was always a brightly lit truck stop not far off. And like my sibling comments - nothing kills your night vision like oncoming headlights. I was pulled over on a rural utah highway in the middle of the night once, leaning back on the hood of my car letting my eyes adjust, and when I finally started to see the fainter stars, I witnessed what I took to be something angelic, blinding white light flying right above me. I was stunned for a moment but once the car passed from behind me I put it together that their brights bounced off a bat flying low above me.

culi 5y ago

Are you making sure to pay attention to the moon cycle? It's important to go at a new moon and definitely not during a full moon

iso1631 5y ago
1) Go camp 2) Ensure clear skies 3) Ensure new moon 4) Ensure camp ground is dark 5) Ensure it's warm enough that everyone is happy enough to stay out 6) Ensure it gets dark early enough It's doable, you have to specifically aim for it though
- gpas 5y ago
  7) leave the phone in the car/tent/pocket Even the dimmest display is far brighter than what you want to see.
- _hcuq 5y ago
  New moon not totally necessary. Look at moon rise and set times.
danlugo92 5y ago
Yeah that could be it, not particularly minding moon cycles when just traveling from one city to the other one.

eindiran 5y ago

Visit the desert, well off any major highway and it will be very low light pollution. The Southwest has a lot of land like this.

billti 5y ago
As a 20-something I spent some time in India when backpacking from England to Australia. One of my strongest memories was a safari we did out into the desert on camels, and just laying beneath the night sky. I never would have guessed at that age you can just literally watch satellites go by. I counted about a dozen "shooting stars" before I stopped counting (which is just objects burning up in the atmosphere on entry). The vividness of the clouds of stars was just breathtaking. Never seen anything close to it since.
- vram22 5y ago
  Great story thanks for sharing. I am from India, and having heard your story, I may try that in the future. Which specific place did you do this in? Near some town or village in Rajasthan? AFAIK that's the only Indian state that has desert (the Thar desert), except for maybe bordering Gujarat state.

tejtm 5y ago

Eyes have to dark adapt, No light, seriously; NO WHITE LIGHT. Takes about 45 minutes to be fully adapted one little flash and you start over. This is why there are pages out there on astronomy/star party etiquette. https://duckduckgo.com/?q=+star+party+etiquette&t=ffsb&ia=web https://duckduckgo.com/?q=+star+party+etiquette&t=ffsb&ia=we...

jazzyjackson 5y ago

Have to get well off the interstate. I thought I would see some good stars going across Nevada but despite a hundred miles between towns there was always a brightly lit truck stop not far off. And like my sibling comments - nothing kills your night vision like oncoming headlights. I was pulled over on a rural utah highway in the middle of the night once, leaning back on the hood of my car letting my eyes adjust, and when I finally started to see the fainter stars, I witnessed what I took to be something angelic, blinding white light flying right above me. I was stunned for a moment but once the car passed from behind me I put it together that their brights bounced off a bat flying low above me.