What,s the best sky you have observed under?

[philhas]

Mt. Teide, Tenerife, helped by the improved latitude.

Tenerife for me and West Coast of Ireland

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[king-jaffethehutt]

Some truly awesome destinations listed folks, there are a couple more of my own I have thought of.

Cornwall circa 1978 the first time I remember looking at the night sky, they must have been truly majestic (I was six at the time)

South Thailand 2006/07 seen some awesome meteorites that left huge tails.

have also stayed on the isle of whithorn (galloway) in a cottage 20 miles from anywhere, was that dark slept with the curtains open and watched the night sky.

Scott

[hemihaggis]

.......mingulay ..............

[Gonzo]

Heidenrod in Germany

50° 10' 00" N 7° 56' 00" E

[Madhatter]

stoney cross airbase in the new forest, amazing skys and completly open! 1 drawback...random doggers pulling into the carpark and then driving away once seeing the telescope:icon_eek:

[onesmallstep]

Hi

I've only managed Kelling Heath at present but the locations mentions above are on my travel wishlist.

[Hypernova]

Not really dark but the best skies that I've observed under were at Shell Island in Gwynedd. It isn't too far from the really amazing (so I've heard) skies of the Lleyn Peninsula. The skies at SI used to be really dark (NELM 5.5-6) but since they put a street light in and erected car park floodlights it hasn't been the same since. I'm in no rush to go back as I feel it has gone downhill recently and I will probably head somewhere darker for my summer holidays this year.

[faulksy]

nothing as exotic as the above but a 10 min drive up the road in a place called llangollen (horseshoe pass) very dark there the sky is like a black velvet blanket full of holes amazing

[RikM]

I went to Uni in Bangor and my wife is from Betws-y-Coed but we haven't been up that way since her parents retired and moved to Thailand 8 years ago (must have been something I said ) I was more interested in beer than stars at the time though

[beetlejuice]

Hi Folks,

just sat here cursing this awful weather , not been out for nearly a month now, cloud, wind, rain, bah!!!

I was reminiscing over my time in Fuerteventura, When I drove into the interior of the island with my 90mm mak.....awesome!

The west side of the island is virtually uninhabited and has the darkest skies I have ever seen.

The skies were so dark I'm embarrassed to say that I could not identify the constellations due to the amount of stars surrounding them!

This had led me to wonder what's the best sky you have observed?

Rgds

Scott

Well, funnily enough it was on the neighbouring island of Lanzarote in July 2008. Drove to the Timanfaya National Park. Pitch black - the Milky Way was spectactular. Was weird observing at 1am dressed in just shorts and a tee shirt. Coudn't do that in the West of Scotland!

[whooshbang]

naked eye only!

scottish highlands and extremadura, spain

[aussi skywatcher]

I am lucky, I live in rural South Australia, generally we have very clears sky's from horizon to horizon, our astro group has a viewing site on a station 20km from Whyalla - amazing views! - some nights you can read a newspaper from the starlight.

[microbe]

South Crete, near Plakias. We only had bins, but the views of Scorpius and Sagittarius were spectacular

[Daniel-K]

mine is the Llyn peninsula being able to so the dark dust lanes was awsome and just a inky black backdrop was awsome going back some point this year

[philo]

My high school Astronomy Club used to go to Sutherland, South Africa, every year, as well as the Cedarberg mountains. Incredible. The Kruger Park was pretty incredible too. I used to feel on the verge of falling into the sky.

[MaxLux]

The Abel Tasman National Park NZ South Island just blew me away, no scope only Mk1 eyeballs! The Falkland Islands with binos anywhere from about 2 miles outside Stanley, I had no idea there was so much man made space junk whistling around up there!

[Bigdaddyjeff]

nothing as exotic as the above but a 10 min drive up the road in a place called llangollen (horseshoe pass) very dark there the sky is like a black velvet blanket full of holes amazing

Been up that way so so many times in the past on family holidays to a caravan we used to stay at . . Just down the road from the four crosses . . I may have to take the bins up there on a clear night

Gaz

[kirkster501]

Nimr and Rimr Oil installations in the Oman desert. Utterly spectacular - the only times i have seen Canopus and been that far South. Petroleum Development Oman and BP provided the blokes something to do in the evenings with a small observatory with an 8 inch scope. Better than snooker and drinking every evening since they spend fours weeks on two off.

Steve

[Zul]

Didn't had the chance to be under very good sky.

[rory]

nothing as exotic as the above but a 10 min drive up the road in a place called llangollen (horseshoe pass) very dark there the sky is like a black velvet blanket full of holes amazing

just looked that up on google earth, thats not to far a trip from the midlands. could be the ideal spot to take my lad for a night or two camping. (if camping's permitted that way?)

[Ibbo!]

Another Mt Teide tick here

In the UK toss up between Galloway and Kielder

[foundaplanet]

When I was in my twenties I used to get to go sailing a couple of times a year on a 40ft yacht.

The nightime sails out in the Bay of Biscay without a land light insight or land breaking the horizon are the most memorable mind blowing night skies of my life.

[laser_jock99]

When I was in my twenties I used to get to go sailing a couple of times a year on a 40ft yacht.

The nightime sails out in the Bay of Biscay without a land light insight or land breaking the horizon are the most memorable mind blowing night skies of my life.

I've been to the Sahara, Mt Teide, Scots Highlands etc. but my most memorable dark sky was also a sea crossing- midway between Scilly & Jersey. Milky Way visible down to the horizon and a trail of bio luminescence left behind in the wake of the yacht. Magical stuff!

Darkness is one thing- but you also need exceptional air clarity to get the best of it. We must have had a really clear air mass above us that night.

[Las0212]

The French Alps on a climbing trip three years back... 2400m up after a four hour climbing session, camped out overnight, didn't sleep all night just gazed in wonder at how clear that sky was!

[Reggie]

I am yet to experience a truly dark sky I think, best I've managed is a few miles out of town but even then the difference was night and day.