Finding Heaven

[rowan46]

Livng in a city with no car and no usable garden makes astronomy difficult gear has to be portable and sites are never perfect. for a long while I used the local rec parks going further and further away to find somewhere quiet. Then I dicovered the canals but in a city although fairly empty they can be quite bright. My local canal spots have been wittled down either by homeowners or business putting up security lighting and have for some time been looking for a local alternative.

The other day whilst walking home from the train station I noticed a sign on a piece of land saying part of the millenium greens project its obviously been there for years and I hadn't noticed it. During the day it's used by dog walkers, but at night completely unused no buildings or equipment to encourage kids to come and vandalise and trees all round screening out quite a bit of local light pollution. For the first time for years I have been able to see dso's not many but some. Anyway I just thought I would post this secret park to encourage any other city dwellers to have a look near them

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Millennium_Green

[MrPloppy]

Well done Rowan - it's great finding a spot you feel safe in and can see darkish skies from. I didn't know about these millennium greens, but a quick search on the wiki you gave didn't yield a list of where these greens are. I'll do a bit more digging and put a list here. Sounds good!

MrP.

[Mattscar]

I completely got the wrong idea when I read the heading for this post. I thought you'd found the ultimate DSO.

However, great that youv found somewhere in a city you can utilse. How quick can you get packed up though? Im just thinking that kids may also be aware that there are no buildings around, so no-one likely to come check on what they are up to in a nice secluded spot.

[Mattscar]

I'll do a bit more digging and put a list here. Sounds good!

MrP.

Id be very interested to see that aswell

[Astro Imp]

Well done Rowan, pleased to hear you've found yourself somewhere to continue your hobby.

Let us know how you get on.

[Joe_L]

Sounds good! Just make sure you DON'T read the thread about going into the woods at night....

[scarp15]

That does actually look good, alas finding Heaven as a city dweller myself, when concerning the night sky, involves getting as far out of it as possible. Depending on what you aim to look for it can sometimes be worth seeking out a Green Corridor. I have observed in Newcastle, on the Town Moor and my local allotment, but not for DSO's, although I use to observe in my back yard mostly for brighter open and globular clusters. If you do not have your own transport, then perhaps by joining a local astro group you could arrange to hook up with a lift.

[John]

Great find

I used to work for the Countryside Agency on the project to establish Millenium Greens many years back. The Wikipedia article is quite accurate on the strengths and weaknesses of the scheme. Imperfect but it did deliver some good things and involved local people in doing so, rather than imposing stuff on them.

[estwing]

well spotted,hope interest has been boosted now you've got a great location...sometimes people in darkish skies forget how lucky they are...

[hes not well again]

well spotted,hope interest has been boosted now you've got a great location...sometimes people in darkish skies forget how lucky they are...

Thats right, I have great dark skies in Scotland and I have indeed completely forgotten how lucky I am. On the downside in the summer it doesn't really get dark at all