544 replies to this topic

[Sk240]

Yeah, I told the BNB host that I'd share it with my fellow stargazing folks.

 

That is they thing about a lot of tcabins in the woods, yes its dark but a lot of the cabins are surrounded by really tall trees, especially in CA.  It is hard to find one that has a wide clear access to the skies.

 

That BNB looks fantastic! Just this weekend, I stayed at a rental cabin with dark skies. But I regretted that 180 degrees were blocked by the tree covered slope on which the cabin was built. All the same, I had some nice views of Saturn and Andromeda.

[John O'Hara]

Oh, I should add a favorite observing site... Relative to Arizona, just an hour north of Phoenix, one of my favorites is the dirt road to Mt. Ord. Any sedan can get up to the first several lookouts. A ridge to the south does a good job of blocking the Phoenix light dome. On a light pollution map, the area is dark green. But views to the north are quite good. Andromeda is visible with the naked eye, as is the Double Cluster in Perseus.


If you are willing to drive 2.5 hours, then Alamo Lake (Bortle 2) is a great spot from Mid-October through Mid-March. Mild nights (40-70F) and temperate days (65-85F) make it a fine place to camp. With my 14" Dobsonian, I had my first and perhaps finest views of the ring nebula and Uranus, which are burned into my memory.

Do you stay at the state park campground or on BLM? I'd think the campground would have a lot of ambient light?

[Sk240]

Adding to this thread, just came back from Utah where I visited Capitol Reef, Bryce Canyon, and Zion.  Skies were darkest at Capitol Reef (Bortle 1) and I had a great time stargazing at Panorama Point, which is very accessible, just maybe 5 minutes inside the park and right off the main road.  Panorama Point was about a 15 minutes drive from my hotel and there is a short uphill hike to the viewing point from the parking lot (red lights recommended), so need to be a bit careful.  If you're willing to venture into the park a little further, there is a great viewing area within BLM's lands right at the intersection of the park's main road (Hwy 24) and the Notom-Bullfrog Road.  I visited this location during the day but ultimately decided to stargaze at Panorama Point.

 

For Bryce Canyon, I stargazed at Sunset Point and its just a short flat walk from the parking lot.  Skies were Bortle 2 though I don't think there is that much difference between B1 and B2 between my recent experiences.  Sunset Point is even more accessible than Panorama Point at Capitol Reef, it was literally 10 minutes door to door from my hotel (Ruby's Inn).  It is very possible to get amazing Milky Way shots overlooking the hoodoos.  (I got my shot at the park's entrance).

 

For Zion, its also B2 but its edging on B3.  I stargazed at the Zion Human History Museum, which was about 10 minutes drive from my hotel also.  However, the tall monolithic rocks that make Zion iconic limits a bit of the visibility of the night sky (though milky way shots over the rocks would be awesome).

 

All that said, I highly recommend Capitol Reef and Bryce Canyon for stargazing, Zion was a little bit of a meh for me, perhaps because I was spoiled with my recent experiences at Capitol Reef and Bryce Canyon.

 

Clear skies!

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Edited by Sk240, 31 October 2024 - 04:14 PM.

[JoshH]

Adding to this thread, just came back from Utah where I visited Capitol Reef, Bryce Canyon, and Zion.  Skies were darkest at Capitol Reef (Bortle 1) and I had a great time stargazing at Panorama Point, which is very accessible, just maybe 5 minutes inside the park and right off the main road.  Panorama Point was about a 15 minutes drive from my hotel and there is a short uphill hike to the viewing point from the parking lot (red lights recommended), so need to be a bit careful.  If you're willing to venture into the park a little further, there is a great viewing area within BLM's lands right at the intersection of the park's main road (Hwy 24) and the Notom-Bullfrog Road.  I visited this location during the day but ultimately decided to stargaze at Panorama Point.

 

For Bryce Canyon, I stargazed at Sunset Point and its just a short flat walk from the parking lot.  Skies were Bortle 2 though I don't think there is that much difference between B1 and B2 between my recent experiences.  Sunset Point is even more accessible than Panorama Point at Capitol Reef, it was literally 10 minutes door to door from my hotel (Ruby's Inn).  It is very possible to get amazing Milky Way shots overlooking the hoodoos.  (I got my shot at the park's entrance).

 

For Zion, its also B2 but its edging on B3.  I stargazed at the Zion Human History Museum, which was about 10 minutes drive from my hotel also.  However, the tall monolithic rocks that make Zion iconic limits a bit of the visibility of the night sky (though milky way shots over the rocks would be awesome).

 

All that said, I highly recommend Capitol Reef and Bryce Canyon for stargazing, Zion was a little bit of a meh for me, perhaps because I was spoiled with my recent experiences at Capitol Reef and Bryce Canyon.

 

Clear skies!

 

If you go all the way to the south end of Bryce Canyon it is a bit of a drive but you are at 9000 Ft. elevation and the skies are much darker, I've been there twice with my 16" dob and had 2 of the best nights observing I've ever had in 2 different ways.

 

The first night was back in 2012, the transparency was great, seeing was average, everything I looked at was just stunning to look at, I felt like my scope was a 25".

 

The second night was in 2021, sadly high thin clouds ruined any deep sky observing but the seeing was the best I've ever "seen". Jupiter and Saturn were well placed and it was just stunning, my highest magnification is an 8mm with a 2x barlow giving 530x, images were razor sharp at this power and if I could have I'm sure I could have been higher. I saw several details on Jupiters moons that night. 

[Sk240]

I know exactly what you're talking about, I went there myself and it was quite a bit higher elevation, colder and more windy.  You're right though, it is Bortle 1 there and clear access of the night skies.

If you go all the way to the south end of Bryce Canyon it is a bit of a drive but you are at 9000 Ft. elevation and the skies are much darker, I've been there twice with my 16" dob and had 2 of the best nights observing I've ever had in 2 different ways.

 

The first night was back in 2012, the transparency was great, seeing was average, everything I looked at was just stunning to look at, I felt like my scope was a 25".

 

The second night was in 2021, sadly high thin clouds ruined any deep sky observing but the seeing was the best I've ever "seen". Jupiter and Saturn were well placed and it was just stunning, my highest magnification is an 8mm with a 2x barlow giving 530x, images were razor sharp at this power and if I could have I'm sure I could have been higher. I saw several details on Jupiters moons that night. 

[LucasK336]

The top of my island (Gran Canaria). Being an island it's not like I have a lot to choose from. But at least it's a great spot, almost 2000m up. Could be better, sadly at night the light pollution from the nearby urban areas does not good, and it's not like I can just drive elsewhere and find darker spots. But some times we get a nice layer of low-lying clouds which stay below the top and block the light from the cities at sea level, and the seeing is usually very good. Transparency some times gets bad due to dust from the Sahara a couple of hundreds of km east from us. Also the local astronomy club which I belong to has a place up there.

 

 

I always try to get there a bit early to catch the sunset too, it's quite something 

My plan is one day to take my scope on a trip to the La Palma, two ferries away. They take care of their dark skies way better than us over here, so they enjoy much better nights.

Edited by LucasK336, 18 November 2024 - 10:17 AM.

[Senex Bibax]

I wish I had had a telescope or even binoculars the time I spent a weekend in Barrington Tops National Park, near Dungog, NSW Australia - a couple of hours north of Sydney. Bortle 2.5 or so, and the stunning Southern Hemisphere night sky. It was spectacular even to the naked eye.

[ProJump]

Well, anyone living in Connecticut can appreciate how far one must go to find darker skies. There is not a green zone in the entire state and only small patches of yellow zone.

Wedged between Boston and New York with Bridgeport, New Haven, Hartford etc all adding to the problem there is one place I found thats actually quite nice all things considered but best yet its only about fifteen minutes from my house.

The site is the same place the New Haven Astronomical Society holds one of thier public observing sessions. The allure of this site is it resides in a town with a pretty strict lighting ordinance which has made a big difference.

There are no stray light sources at this site and the sky looks pretty amazing to me from this Orange zone location. The Milky Way can be seen in the summer month's. It's more than just I think I can see it, it's quite apparent and pretty amazing from this locale.

That Location is Youngs Pond Park located in Branford, CT. Pretty good spot considering how far I'd have to go to do any better.

So anyone along the shoreline of Connecticut might find this site of intrest and I do visit there to observe a few times a year.

That is nice to know! I live about 40 mins away from that spot.

[ProJump]

Another CT astronomer here - the White Memorial Foundation in Litchfield is open 24 x 7, and there is a club observatory on a knoll just south of the main buildings. The club members are a great bunch, and they conduct outreach meetings on a monthly basis. Much darker skies than my backyard in Central CT. Lots of wildlife - owls, fox, deer are frequent visitors. You can hear geese on Bantam Lake.

 

I think i will join that club!

[SubaruB4]

Another person from CT I also need another spot I used to use compo beach however changes on the beach and kids flying around the parking lot plus it closes at 12 AM I need something darker but it's a pain driving over 2 hours..

 

Another thing is I don't want to be tresspassing, part of me was thinking if I wanted to take a few days in VT just for this reason.

[WISDOC]

The Wall, just outside the west gate to Badlands National park, SD. Agnastora state park outside Hot Springs,SD. 

Also my front yard. Nice dark, clear skies (when wildfires aren't fouling them up)

   Jack Pine campground north of Manistique MI. Real dark open sky.

[JayinUT]

Three I'll share.

 

1. Conger Springs Utah. West of Delta east of Great Basin National Park. There are no lights no people. Remote BLM land with no services. However SQM L is 21.9. It is dark very very dark here. Usable year round but not after it snows. The roads get slick. 
 

 

This is not a location that I share as I don't want a ton of people to know about it. Central Eastern Utah. About 2 1/2 to 3 hours from my home. Usable year round unless there is snow. Again an extremely dark site, no lights with SQM in 21.9 range. 

My local spot about an hour and half away. SQM range 21.7 to 21.8

 

[Eric Weder]

Spent the weekend in the Big Bend area of Texas, Saturday night at the Mountainside Inn in Ft. Davis. A pleasant little spot, more like a B&B than a hotel. I was able to set up right outside our room. The skies are very dark as the town has ordinances to protect the McDonald Observatory. Great people and a definite addition to the list. Just a couple miles away is the Prude Ranch, site of the Texas Star Party.

 

 

This image was 20s at 15mm f/2.8, ISO6400 so the stray light is really emphasized, I had to use a headlamp to see. Looking northwest, M31 is clearly visible. Polaris is just above the mountain on the right. Seeing was not good on this night, but still way better than Houston!

 

https://www.mountainsideinntx.com/

Edited by Eric Weder, 27 January 2025 - 09:32 PM.

[SBTObservatory]

Possibly the most light pollution free site in Utah, near Hole in the Rock. This all sky mosaic of 45 CCD images is from NPS night skies monitoring about 12 years ago. The original is 13,000 pixels wide.

see https://www.nps.gov/...520_hmrFULL.jpg

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Edited by SBTObservatory, 09 February 2025 - 03:47 PM.

[SBTObservatory]

Always a favorite of mine because of a memorable night in February 2004, Ubehebe Crater, Death Valley National Park.  From the notes: "Spectacular night, excellent quality sky, Zodiacal band and gegenschein visible, Angie sees 17 Pleiades. Sky seems exceptionally dark with very little airglow."  Chad, Angie, and I all saw M81 with the naked eye. Darkest part of the sky measured 22.2 V mags/arc-sec^2. Haven't been there in a while, I am sure Las Vegas/Pahrump light dome is 5 times brighter today. Sad to think a lot of the west beyond 100 miles of Las Vegas, Nevada, used to look like this.

Edited by SBTObservatory, 09 February 2025 - 05:49 PM.

[SubaruB4]

If I can get my setup working with Asiair I'm seriously thinking about going up to Vermont next month to a dark site.. or any other dark area in New England besides my state I just don't know if the really super dark sites are drive able.

[James Buck]

If you're in Northwest Arkansas some of my favorite places are:

Hobbs State Park

Boxley Valley

Most of these areas are in Bortle 2 to Bortle 3.

Check out Arkansas State Parks at

 

 https://www.arkansasstateparks.com/

 

Many parks are close to amenities and easy to get to.  If you're more adventurous some remote parks are remote and have primitive camp sites too.

[donraye]

my backyard.. i built an observatory. It's convenient. 10 inch f7 Cave reflector on an old Losmandy heavy duty G11 type but it's the older belt drive i think they called it a 110. 

 

[mpgxsvcd]

I just moved to North Bethesda/Rockville Maryland last year. I am able to observe here with narrowband filters but I would really like to find a darker site 1-2 hours from here to stay the weekend at and observe at night. Are there any clubs or sites that are open to the public all night in Maryland? Any help would be appreciated. I would even be willing to drive to West Virginia if there are good sites there.

[Mike W]

George Landis Arboretum