science How Dark are Your Skies?

[Phosphor 11,522]

2 hours ago, Super Splashee said:

That's really bad.. So much light pollution, as can be seen in the air. You need a pitch black sky basically, with tiny stars.... Well, maybe some nebulas and ... (goes on for a while) (has no idea what he is talking about)

Not really. What you see in long exposures is much different from the naked eye. The light dome in the pic appears fairly low, so I'd say those skies are pretty dark, at least at the zenith.

The night sky is never pitch black due to airglow and other natural sources of light. If it does appear black, your eyes aren't dark adapted.  

[Evil Pink One 12,942]

Is pollution dark acceptable?

[Phosphor 11,522]

9 hours ago, Kujamih said:

Is pollution dark acceptable?

For general observing, I'd recommend a site that is at least yellow or darker on the map. Of course, the darker the better, but that means travelling much further away from civilization. 

Also take note of the Moon's phase before heading out to a dark site.  

[Kyoshi Frost Wolf 40,220]

I am no expert on the specifics, but my town has mostly dark skies at night. Not a whole lot of light polution since this town is small, not much here. You can kinda see the light's coming from one city to the east but even that is rather dim. So my town is good for sitting outside at night, staring into the sky at the wonders of the galaxy. Now I just need a Pro Mega Telescope of Awesomeness 3002.

[Stone Cold Steve Jobs 22,410]

Since my

last post here our skies went from not that bad to heavily light polluted. I can no longer even see Ursa Major anymore.

[bubbleteapony 583]

yellow where I'm currently staying, pink where my apartment I'm currently moving out of is  I guess it's right outside the capital of my state, after all. where I am now is out in the country so I'm happy with my views  (might be taking a late night drive into West Virginia sometime soon though, I wanna see the night sky out in the middle of nowhere!)

[ZiggWheelsManning 7,289]

Dark skies are there when I see heavy gray clouds at a low altitude shortly before night.  

[DubWolf 16,570]

Went to a dark area and I’d say based on the charts it was probably a high 5... Andromeda was visible really only good with averted vision or as a glow with binoculars. Map says that area should e been a 2 but there was a bunch of really bright lights in the vicinity I couldn’t get away from. Grr, dang lights! This is in the same area as a dark site too.... 

[Splashee 28,537]

I cannot control myself...

 

*Sings* How dark is your skies? How dark is your skies, how, dark, is your skiiies? I really mean to learn. 'Cause we're living in a world of fools, breaking us down. When they all should let us be. We belong to you and me!

[Flying Pencil 3,023]

Mostly red in where I live which is New Jersey. It get pitch black very quickly at 5