Sky at Night Magazine

[arcturusmds]

My house is by a junction and has 3 street lights by it. Since I've been surveying sky quality and light pollution I've found some great dark spots within 20 Minutes drive. It's all relative I suppose. I've had a SQM reading 20.85 just 20 minutes drive away and I usually get an SQM of mid 18s in my garden. I know some people on here wouldn't get out of bed for a 20.85 but to me it was spectacular.

[typefortytwo]

right at the bottom of my garden there is a streetlamp,plus houses and the occasional securty light.and to the east of my garen there is a clear spot,but theres a tree in the way.talk about narrow band viewing

[astrokin]

[size="3"][font="tahoma"]I have the misfortune to live near central London and during the last 25 years of my stargazing I've seen a steadily gr(l)owing veil obliterate our skies. On a good night back then I could count 15 Pleiades, on a good night now, it is difficult to count the 7. Our grandchildren will not have fossil fuels and street lighting all night will be a thing of the past or considerably reduced unless we crack fusion or substantially improve on other alternatives. No real research has been done on darkness and crime, the fear leads to conjecture of perceived threat, only has there been research into lighting and car accidents.
Lights going out is like newspaper headlines...imagining stuff that is not likely to happen to most of us.
Meantime millions spent on lights a tiny few gain by. My street lights are on all night and when i do observing runs I often do not see a soul.

As an urban spaceman I have to astrally project myself to my brother's in darkest Sussex to get nice views and although most don't have the luxury of outlaws or friends in the country, you can still get in a car (a friend's if necessary) and go to a dark open public area (within 50 miles of anywhere in Britain) and do an over-nighter.
I've done this by myself on many an occasion or you could sign up for an astro-camp. The rewards at the end of the journey are breathtaking when you can finally see what the sky should look like.

On Yer Bikes!
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[Stangazer]

I live in Central London as well, and the light pollution is obviously a big problem here. I have a large balcony which would be ideal for stargazing if it didn't face a communal garden full of lights. Fortunately Hampstead Heath is not far from my house, so I can still find a quiet and dark place for astronomy.

[VanillaCandle]

I have the usual neighbours too