algol Posted September 24, 2008 Share Posted September 24, 2008 just thought i'd make a poll to see what everyone's bortle scale is.use the link below to go to a webpage with the scale on, read each and estimate your site's scale.http://www.novac.com/lp/def.phpi think mine is around 6 in summer and about 5 in winter.i'll use the best value though andgo for 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Posted September 24, 2008 Share Posted September 24, 2008 My best site is a 3.5 although I don't quite agree with Bortle's naked eye limiting magnitude. Generally though I observe in CLass 4 skies James Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Warthog Posted September 25, 2008 Share Posted September 25, 2008 What's a Bortle rating? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Talitha Posted September 25, 2008 Share Posted September 25, 2008 Basically I go by what I see through the eyepiece and for the most part, it's pretty good... a lot better than what Mr. Bortle would place me at. Sorry, but I've never cared too much for this particular scale. Depending on what items I use as guidelines, my Starpad can be #2, #3 #4 or #5... too much of a spread to be totally accurate, JMHO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timetraveller Posted September 25, 2008 Share Posted September 25, 2008 For me in my back garden I range from a 3.5 to 4 facing from SE through S to SW then it becomes a 4.5 to 5 as I slew towards N in towards the main part of town .I actually live on the outskirts of swindon towards junc 15 of the M4 hence the lower readings towards the south and I am lucky in as much that my garden is actually aligned N/S so my house shields most of the worst effects of light pollution But in the winter I am still able to make out most of Ursa Minor and can still pick out Polaris very easily regards Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Ritchie Posted September 25, 2008 Share Posted September 25, 2008 I'm at 4/4.5 but voted 5 as there's no '4.5' option I've been observing in Bortle 1 sky (with excellent seeing AND transparency too) in the Arizona desert, and that's something to remember ... makes coming back to the UK rather hard to take though... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ringz Posted September 25, 2008 Share Posted September 25, 2008 I'm roughly an 8 I think, mainly because of street lamps directly shining into my garden. There's at least 5 or 6 of the blighters -- Martyn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ngc2403 Posted September 25, 2008 Share Posted September 25, 2008 hey my sky is a 3/4 when the & clear and i can see it ,i can make out the milky way clearly and it has lots of detail, the lower clouds are dark and when you start an evening look black like the stars are missing! M33 can be seen just and m31 is clearly an extended object about one to two thumb widths across on the sky on poor evenings. i can see most of the bright GC too.Zodiacal Light is clear as i now know it to be the light that i remember thinking was just the sunrise. it is very bright and extends up ~60 degrees at dawn and dusk. was never very sure cause i have only watched the sun set from the farm, its never been clear any other times that i can remember :scratch: watching for another location. before you all :crybaby: i will probably not get to see these dark skies till Christmas because i stay at uni in Glasgow during term and i is never clear when i go home :crybaby: :crybaby: :crybaby: while at uni i enjoy picking out stars and guessing where the constellations are from the ten or eleven bright stars i can see, its a 9 in Glasgow's west end!ally Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paxo Posted September 25, 2008 Share Posted September 25, 2008 Class 9 for my back garden unfortunately, I guess I'm in the middle of industrial tyneside that makes sense, can see Mag 3-4 (on a good night) stars when there's no cloud. I used to live with a ship repair yard to the North and one the East, but the one to the North has gone now. No problem though! it just makes things more interesting.Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wedge Posted September 25, 2008 Share Posted September 25, 2008 I would say that I was between 6 and 5...I personally don't find this scale very good however, because some things which are at 4, also apply to me, and some of the things at 6 (such as cloud colour) seem too extreme.Remy P.S I went for 6 in the end, because the Milky Way is only rarely better than what is described in 6. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sam Posted September 25, 2008 Share Posted September 25, 2008 Mine is a three (four in summer). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nitram100 Posted September 25, 2008 Share Posted September 25, 2008 I'm in between 7 and 8, the main contributers to my awful light pollution are 16 street lights on my road, and massive orange glows from Wembley to the south. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Astroman Posted September 26, 2008 Share Posted September 26, 2008 I'm with those that said this is not a very good scale. My vision is simply not good enough to split even Alcor and Mizar, much less see M22 naked eye, but my skies are certainly mag. 6 or better, with the orange dome of Phoenix killing much of my northern sky.I'm with Helen on this one, rating my skies from 1 through 5. Hardly accurate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Astroman Posted September 26, 2008 Share Posted September 26, 2008 I just remembered mentioning the Bortle scale at a star party once. I could see people rolling their eyes in the dark. Where would that appear on the scale? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Astronut Posted September 26, 2008 Share Posted September 26, 2008 Zodiacal light from my site no way.Had a quick read of each class and I voted for 6 but it's probably somewhere between 5 & 6 I'm scouting this weekend for a darkish site within 5 miles of home and I'm not optimistic. There are some country roads to the SE heading over to Yorkshire and a layby set back from a country road would do but it would probably be filled with cars with steamy windows - I'd be asking for trouble if I arrived on scene with a telescope :oops: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff RV Posted September 26, 2008 Share Posted September 26, 2008 "Milky way casting Diffuse shadows on the ground"? I live in a dark site, well once everyone has turned there lights off after sitting outside sometimes until 1 or 2 in the morning, not sure about the shadows cast though!!So I'd say on average "2".Jeff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Isabella Posted October 4, 2008 Share Posted October 4, 2008 I'm not a fan of this scale.The rating puts my site at class 7 or even 8, yet last night, I was still able to see comparisons stars for R Cyg at mag.13.8 with the Skywatcher Achromat 120mm refractor. Using the smaller Tak scope, I was still able to see traces of the Veil Nebula, nebulosity around Merope in M45 and M1 which was located in an orange sky glow part of the sky. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reggie Posted October 4, 2008 Share Posted October 4, 2008 I don't think that scale is very good at all, doesn't take seeing into account which greatly affects my LP. For instance, wednesday night LP was almost non-existant as the seeing was exceptionally good, other nights it's been upto 60deg, then of course its dependent on the moon, neighbours and their piggin conservatory lights, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ant Posted November 24, 2008 Share Posted November 24, 2008 The scale is not great. But I would estimate my location is 8 most nights, occasionally a 7.If I am really lucky and the moisture in the air is low then I might get a 6 in the early hours of the morning.Ant Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiny Posted November 25, 2008 Share Posted November 25, 2008 Like others with darker skies mine varies from 2 to 5 and often manages such a shift during the night depending on cloud conditions near the horizon reflecting light miles off. In summer it never seems to get dark - or maybe I don't stay up late enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
661-pete Posted November 25, 2008 Share Posted November 25, 2008 Well, I thought I'd chosen my French site with care but on this scale it only rates about 4 most moonless nights (I assume we're talking about moonless nights, otherwise the scale makes no sense!). But then my eyes are getting on a bit - I could probably get M33 naked-eye if I were younger but at my age... But I do have a distinct advantage - a good three hours of dark sky between twilights even in midsummer.As for supposedly rural Sussex (my back garden) - 6 at best.I too wonder about the usefulness of this scale. Often, for those who image (and even visually, for telescope users with the right filters), one can get pretty good results even in terrible LP - as I've had demonstrated to me!Anyone care to recommend a reasonable sky quality meter? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Talitha Posted November 25, 2008 Share Posted November 25, 2008 The only one I know of is the Unihedron SQM but I've never used one and can't vouch for its accuracy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lunator Posted November 26, 2008 Share Posted November 26, 2008 My Sky is pretty much a 6.Occasionally a 5ish on the cold clear night... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EA2007 Posted November 26, 2008 Share Posted November 26, 2008 Mine's 4 / 5 depending on conditions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moonshane Posted October 8, 2011 Share Posted October 8, 2011 mine's about 7 but I improve my experience with blackout screens and observing in a dark garden. I can just detect the MW at the Zenith with averted vision. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.