How dark are your skies?

[Caz]

Apparently, you may or may not already know this, I'm guessing you do, you know everything....sorry waffling again, too much vodka (making up for not being able to drink christmas day due to driving)  Yes...anyway, a good way to judge how dark your skies are is too see how many stars you can count in the Great square of Pegesas, if you can count 6 or 7, your skies are very good.... have a guess how many I can see.....1....

[Jamie]

Thats one more than i can see.

[Jamie]

The bright lights of Glasgow

[spudicus]

I have 3 streetlights within 35 yards of the little patch of dirt our council terms 'A Garden'

Still, am getting a house soon, so I can't grumble too much (sods law will dictate that the garden I do eventually get will be surrounded by enormous trees, and a neighbour who lights their garden with an old World War II searchlight, left over from the Blitz!)

[Astroman]

I have to count stars IN the great square?! Oh man, where do I start. Just stars? Stars, about a dozen. Smudges, maybe 3.

[spudicus]

P.S. I can't see any!

[Sonia]

I see all the stars! I have really dark skies in the backgarden.

[The Warthog]

I dont recall seeing any stars in the Great Square of Pegesas (you spelt it wrong, twinkletoes, smart up, eh?) Perhaps one on a good night. I can see Polaris, and the two stars in the end of the bowl of the Little Dipper (Ursa Minor) which makes my skies mag 2-3. My eyesight is a factor, though. Other people can see more, about a mag more, I think.

[spudicus]

I thought my skies where bad, or are you referring to cloud covered skies??

Bad LP mate. It's a real pain, but as I'm more into the Moon and the Planets than DSO's I can live with it!

[OXO]

Light Pollution in Blackpool is well a Joke luckly i can get round this when imaging but observing is a pain although i have a new filter to try out loaned from Steve(REVIEW SOON).

JD

[greencat]

I can't see any stars in the square. I have to duck down below my fence to block out a streetlight & a security light on opposite house.

Keep expecting the boys in blue at the door with reports of pervert.

I have a Light pollution filter though that works quite well.

[Astroman]

I went outside last night for 5 minutes, not totally dark adapted, and counted 9 stars inside the Great Square. Skies are ~mv=6.3. The bad news is the light dome from Phoenix is growing exponentially to the North.

[lunator]

I think my skies are equivalent to a 60 watt light bulb.

On a really good night I have managed to get down mag 5.5 at Zenith and I have seen all the stars in Ursa Minor. In the 2 years I have been back into Astonomy I have had 2 nights like this.

An average night is Mag 4.

Thats the joy of London although Mag 6 skies are only down the road in Richmond Park (8 square miles no lights) but this locked to Cars at dusk.

I have taken my binoculars there.

Cheers

Ian