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Tony, thanks for such a great post explaining how to gauge the sky's darkness.

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Thanks, Carol. But I would have written a somewhat different post if my primary intention had been explaining how to gauge your sky. What I'm really trying to do is gather more empirical data about the correlation between:

1. Distance to nearest major light source.
2. Color zone in Light Pollution Atlas.
3. Sky-Quality Meter reading.
4. Visibility of Milky Way.
5. Naked-eye visibility of various DSOs.
6. Are clouds bright or dark?
7. Other indicators used in Bortle scale.

So how about the two of you who responded? How do your skies rate on those measures?

I'm realizing even as I write this that I have one huge advantage over most stargazers: I don't have a backyard. That has forced me to gain experience with a wide variety of different sites. So I have perspective that most people lack. If you only know the Milky Way in your own backyard, how would you know if your view is great or terrible?

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Tony Flanders

eyeglasses
6x15 and 8x32 monoculars
8x25, 7x35, 10x30 IS, 10x50, and 15x70 binoculars
70mm and 100mm achromatic refractors
4.5", 7", and 12.5" Dobs

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