Seeing the nightsky without visual/light polution. I went for a vacation to our province more than a decade ago. It was an island but has busy center of town were most people are already at home and asleep by 8PM
We went out to the outskirts so not much other light source except from the car that were driving then we decided to stop over the roadside. Since theres no one really driving around the place, we quickly laid down on the road.
Seeing thousands of stars above you really makes you think alot. Some good and some bad, life is beautiful, about how insignificant we are, and all other things
Check out if there's any Dark Sky Parks near you! Highly recommend. They make it easy to see without venturing into the wilderness, at least the one I went to.
darksky.org (no affiliation to them I just love what they do)
As someone from the prairies of Canada, this statement is unfathomable to me. Iāve never really considered that people havenāt seen the unimpeded skyā¦
In Michigan, during the 1970's before industry and increasing automotive traffic turned the sky semi opaque, the Aura Borealis was easily visible on winter nights. First time I saw it, It was as though the night sky was painted on a sheet and suddenly the gods 'floofed' it- snapped the sheet as if making a bed. thousands of stars rippled in a giant wave, and I thought I was hallucinating. It was only later I saw the 'curtain' effect and, although incredible in itself, was not as visually arresting as the Great Floof.
If you're in the US, or visiting, go on a Kayak tour in Castine, Maine. The cove there has the bioluminescent phytoplankton and I was able to see the Milky Way with my own eyes. One of the top 3 experiences of my entire life thus far.
Youāre running out of time sadly and so please do this immediately. Satellites are being launched at exponential rates this decade. Within 20 years I donāt think anywhere on earth will have Milky Way visibility ( including the middle of the pacific). Light pollution is currently getting 10% every year and thatāll probably accelerate
Can relate to this. I live in a city which has a lot of light and air pollution. Hardly any stars are visible.
Two years back I was in Yosemite National Park. Rented a cabin there with family. We all would sit late in the night outside watching the sky. Gave a different appreciation for the cosmos.
Witnessed this in Yellowstone as a kid, and it was incredible and a little scary at the same time. It was scary because even though we were in an empty field, it was so dark you couldnāt see much around you- but it also made me realize how minuscule our world is and how incomprehensible the size of the universe really is.
During my time in military we were patrolling at night with light amplifiers. Looked up and saw the kind of sky you see in those photographs that show millions of stars and planets.
It was beautiful, but also kind of frightening. You feel so insignificant. It happened roughly 20 years ago. I still remember vividly that night.
This one sits with me, and is why I look back so fondly on our camping trip to Death Valleyā¦ seeing all of those stars without any light pollution will sit with me forever. To think thousands of years ago our ancestors looked up the same way blows my mind.
I had this experience. Wonderful. In the Thar desert on the India/Pakistan border. Iām familiar with most of the main constellations and stars. But there were so many stars shining that I couldnāt even pick out the Big Dipper!
I had a very similar experience. I took my two grandsons for a camping trip in Colorado. We camped at a fairly high elevation. I came out of the tent at about 2 am. It was a clear night, and my view if the stars was so breathtaking I can still remember that moment clears, 20 years later
If you live anywhere near southern california, the Mojave desert, Joshua tree nation park, death valley. I personally went to Joshua tree with someone about 3 years ago and she got a long slexposure shot of the night sky and you can see the milky way galaxy in it. It was beautiful.
Its hard to say specifically without knowing where in the world you are but the desert is always a solid choice. I have had amazing star gazing in the Simpson Desert and the Atacama Desert. This is the real 10/10 experience.
A close second is camping out in any national park/wilderness area.
Just make sure to check what phase the moon will be in so you are not anywhere near a full moon. And of course the weather so it isn't cloudy.
This is something I miss living in Germany. I grew up in East Africa (European father moved a lot for work), I appreciated having that magic in our garden almost every day. When I see a few stars at night where I live in Germany, I am extremely grateful.
We went backpacking the the Japan alps and I was primed with knowledge of the stars, constellations, etc. The night was completely clear and dark. I couldn't find anything. There were so many stars the key ones were lost to me. The Milky Way was pretty spectacular however.
man, seeing a sky full of stars with barely any light pollution is a different kind of experience. makes all your problems feel so small for a moment, but somehow thatās comforting rather than depressing
I got to see this in the middle of remote scrub desert in Nevada, and it was absolutely spectacular. I could see the band of the Milky Way with my naked eyes. There were just...stars upon stars upon stars. I was humbled by the sight.
I completely agree. I took my family to Great Sand Dunes National Park a few years ago which is supposed to be one of the best places to view the sky without light or air pollution. We drove out to the middle of nowhere. I couldn't believe how much we could see!
I saw it near Page AZ. It is an amazing experience. Especially if the stars are out.
What's even more amazing is when you realize
It's not OUT there, it you are a part of it. Makes you realize how insignificant we (and our problems) are in the whole scheme of things.
I have vague memories around 1998, when I was about 5 years old and living in a Chinese village without night lights. It was bright by the moon or thousands of stars!
Nowadays that village got absorbed by the near 5 million people city and got high rises etc, so no more dark nights š¤£
Everywhere one earth until 150, 175 or so years was like this. Most the Earth was still like this 100 years ago. Iāve seen that once we put enough satellites and trash in space, enough light will be scattered to disrupt viewing the night sky from everywhere
I would add to this, looking at Saturn through a really good telescope.
All the planets are cool of course, but thereās something about seeing Saturn just hanging there in the sky, casting its shadow on its rings thatās almost transcendental.
That's getting harder and harder as time goes on. Even where there's almost no human population or surface-level light pollution, the number of satellites is steadily growing.
Done that on a ship in mid Pacific, doing lighting drill on a carrier when we have to turn off the light for a minute and all light off, never see that many star in my life. However, don't find the Milky Way though
I couldn't agree more. A number of years ago I went to a Dark Sky Park. I will never forget seeing the Milky Way with my own eyes, I always thought you needed a telescope to see it. I was in utter awe in a way that I don't think I've felt since.
I was and remain so, so angry about light pollution. Humans were meant to see that every night! I really wonder how different our lives might be if we got to remember how small we are at the end of each day...
I've seen a 100% solar eclipse, and I've seen the night sky from the middle of fucking nowhere Wyoming on a clear night with a new moon. Both were amazing, but if I had to pick one to see again it would be the second one.Ā
I moved to an island like that near the polar circle, far away from city light pollution. No words for just how mindblowing this experience can be on a clear winter night.Ā
Agawa Bay campground on the northern shores of Lake Superior. Beautiful sky. Would highly recommend. Middle of no where but so beautiful. The milky way is one of the greatest things in the entire universe to see in it's full glory.
Iām from Newfoundland in Canada. Never realized growing up what a blessing the fresh air and starry skies were! Highly recommend the new Netflix show Below for a small taste of how special the province really is.
Can confirm. A friend moved to Vermont, a really, really rural part. City-dwelling me went up to visit for a weekend. I knew of light pollution, but was still gobsmacked by the difference in the night sky. Endless stars, satellite after satellite passing by overhead (and this was years before Starlink, I can't imagine what it looks like now)...
I did some stargazing on a cold clear winter night in the Red Centre of Australia - it felt like science fiction. You could see so clearly that the Milky Way is a galaxy and weāre in it. After a few minutes it began to feel like the galactic center was down, like you could just fall into the sky. Incredible.
Deployed in 2001 for GWOT. While on guard one night decided to put on my night vision goggles and looked up. Let out a long audible wow. 15 mins later several of us were laying on our backs, rifles laying down next to us while we just looked up. Spent most of the night doing so.
US southwest, or Canada north of the big cities (like Nova Scotia). Itās breathtaking, really makes you realize why ancient people viewed the stars with such reverence.
I got to see a ton of this while camping and hiking in the boy scouts. No wonder I liked going on campouts every month - as an adult I crave the level of peace and serenity I got from sitting next to a crackling fire on a cool evening after a long day out in the wilderness. Everyone sitting in front of the fire, no one speaking above a whisper to not ruin the mood.
For real. I was on an island in Belize and spent hours lying on a beach, smoking a cigar and just looking at the sky. Best night of my life and I hate cigars š
I remember when I did this for the first time. A friend of mine and I did a road trip to pick up an eBay win about 5 hours away. His van broke down on the way back in the middle of nowhere. Whilst we were waiting for someone from the AA to take us back the rest of the way there was nothing to do but lie on the grass verge and look up. Absolutely incredible, saw so many shooting stars. Donāt think Iād seen any up until that point
I don't have to imagine and it's absolutely amazing.
A couple of times my friends and I hiked half a day out into a national park, set up our camp and took LSD and just spent hours laying on the ground staring up. It was unreal.
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u/Rednine2591 4h ago edited 4h ago
Seeing the nightsky without visual/light polution. I went for a vacation to our province more than a decade ago. It was an island but has busy center of town were most people are already at home and asleep by 8PM
We went out to the outskirts so not much other light source except from the car that were driving then we decided to stop over the roadside. Since theres no one really driving around the place, we quickly laid down on the road.
Seeing thousands of stars above you really makes you think alot. Some good and some bad, life is beautiful, about how insignificant we are, and all other things