New to observing and astronomy

[Shino]

Having lived in a large city all my life, I've been largely disconnected from the real sight of the night sky. Several years ago, in Surrey I believe, I managed to wander outside the small B&B late at night, having to only be struck by the gorgeous navy blue sky - I want to see this again

That's why I'm here. I need guidance and advice from personal experience on where the best places on the mainland UK to see the stars and how to get there. Ideally someone here could show me? I'd like to go within the next few weeks, preferably.

[swamp thing]

Hi Shino

Whereabouts in London are you? There are many Astro societies in and around London that would no doubt be able to help you find a nice site to do some observing.

If you have transport have a look at the social groups on the main index page here. There may be a social group reasonably close to you that you can join up with.

[umadog]

Welcome! Right now the days are very long and it doesn't get dark until later in the night. If you hold off until August or so then you'll get darker skies. The other thing to keep in mind is to go when there's little or no moon. The moon will really wash away the stars. Download Stellarium. It's free and you can use it plan. The next question is where to go. Here's the UK light pollution map: http://www.avex-asso.org/dossiers/wordpress/?page_id=127 You could identify a suitably dark area and then look for observing societies in the region. Remember that some areas have worse weather than others. For example, northern Scotland is dark (in winter!) but there are relatively few clear nights (http://www.britastro.org/dark-skies/bestukastrolocationmap2.html). Another option, if you're really serious, is to head abroad. Doesn't have to be far: SGL member ollypenrice runs an astronomy B&B in southern France.

As Steve says, social groups are a great way to go. You can head over to observing meetings with no gear at all (or binoculars if you have them) and people will be more than happy to show you stuff through their scopes. Astronomers are generally a very inclusive and helpful lot.

[Shino]

Hi Shino

Whereabouts in London are you? There are many Astro societies in and around London that would no doubt be able to help you find a nice site to do some observing.

If you have transport have a look at the social groups on the main index page here. There may be a social group reasonably close to you that you can join up with.

I live in South West London. Unfortunately I don't have my own form of transportation. I've had a look at the Social Groups section of the forum and I see a few areas close to me, but I'm looking to go as further from London as possible because of the light pollution. Umadog's helpful map below reinforces my suspicion that Wales may be the best place to go.

Welcome! Right now the days are very long and it doesn't get dark until later in the night. If you hold off until August or so then you'll get darker skies. The other thing to keep in mind is to go when there's little or no moon. The moon will really wash away the stars. Download Stellarium. It's free and you can use it plan. The next question is where to go. Here's the UK light pollution map: http://www.avex-asso...ss/?page_id=127 You could identify a suitably dark area and then look for observing societies in the region. Remember that some areas have worse weather than others. For example, northern Scotland is dark (in winter!) but there are relatively few clear nights (http://www.britastro...cationmap2.html). Another option, if you're really serious, is to head abroad. Doesn't have to be far: SGL member ollypenrice runs an astronomy B&B in southern France.

As Steve says, social groups are a great way to go. You can head over to observing meetings with no gear at all (or binoculars if you have them) and people will be more than happy to show you stuff through their scopes. Astronomers are generally a very inclusive and helpful lot.

Thank you