Tell us your sky quality

[miguel87]

There's much easier ways of stealing 500 quids worth of equipment 😂

Plus its heavy and hard to get to without being noticed by alot of people.

But fair enough, im not too worried

[PeterW]

Sqm 19.2 when I use my straylight shield on the SQM, around 18.4 without.. flat lights and streetlights!! I use a pair of the 2x “constellation” binoculars to help enable me to find the less obvious constellations from my garden.

 

Peter

[Rob]

Home is Bortle 5. 30 min drive to the New Forest Bortle 3.5/4 ... But I have been under Bortle 2, and that changed everything!

[tingting44]

I live roughly at the pin to the right , I normally travel to my dark site at the left pin, would I notice a big difference trying to find a spot in the lighter green near the A354? I can't find an app on Android to give me bortle readings 😭

[Wiu-Wiu]

 

Data from 2015 on the website. I got my own SQM-meter and I'm only getting this on a good night now.

I'm usually between 18.9-19.2 nowadays. Visual observations from home are restricted to double stars and clusters. 

It's all photographic with a big fat filter in front of it  

 

[John]

Tell us about your sky quality:

Right now, quality thick clouds and quality drizzle

[Owmuchonomy]

1 hour ago, tingting44 said:

I live roughly at the pin to the right , I normally travel to my dark site at the left pin, would I notice a big difference trying to find a spot in the lighter green near the A354? I can't find an app on Android to give me bortle readings 

‘Clear Outside’ the @FLO APP gives Bortle readings based on your location.

Edited April 28, 2020 by Owmuchonomy

[Dave1]

@Owmuchonomy yes I have that app on my phone. Very good indeed, I have it set for my UK address, and where I will be moving to in the EU. I still think people should learn to look at the night sky and see what the dimmest magnitude star they can see with the naked eye, its a good measure of transparency. I will quite often use the Ursa Minor for this. 

[Mark at Beaufort]

2 minutes ago, Dave1 said:

 I still think people should learn to look at the night sky and see what the dimmest magnitude star they can see with the naked eye, its a good measure of transparency. I will quite often use the Ursa Minor for this. 

I agree Dave. I always check out the stars in Ursa Minor to determine the sky quality.

[carastro]

This is where I live!!!!

The map says Bortle 7 if you click on it, but I class it as 8 as it fits all the descriptions and since only a mile away it gives a reading of Bortle 8/9.

Lower down by Crowborough is where we hold our Astro camps Bortle 4.  Much more like it. 

Carole 

 

 

Edited April 28, 2020 by carastro

[tingting44]

30 minutes ago, Owmuchonomy said:

‘Clear Outside’ the @FLO APP gives Bortle readings based on your location.

Awesome thank you

[tingting44]

30 minutes ago, Owmuchonomy said:

‘Clear Outside’ the @FLO APP gives Bortle readings based on your location.

Awesome thank you

[geoflewis]

30 minutes ago, Mark at Beaufort said:

I agree Dave. I always check out the stars in Ursa Minor to determine the sky quality.

That's my quick rule of thumb test too

[MarkAR]

Well here's mine.

[DaveL59]

1 hour ago, John said:

Tell us about your sky quality:

Right now, quality thick clouds and quality drizzle

same here John, flat grey and rain all day.

And just to improve my day a spider decided one of my freshly painted parts was something to go crawl over grrr

[JOC]

I didn't realise the clear outside app. gave sky quality.  @carastro hope you won't be too jealous.  Where I live the app says:

That's not too bad is it?

[DaveL59]

ah neat, never bothered to download it before but thought I'd see what it says too

Est quality 19.5 Class 5 Bortle - tho I don't get the brightness info

[ApophisAstros]

49 minutes ago, tingting44 said:

Awesome thank you

Its only an estimation as it says here i am 5 but when i measure it with a SQL meter its 20.44 ie bortle 4 ,but its close enough if you havent got one i suppose,

Roger

[ApophisAstros]

18 minutes ago, JOC said:

I didn't realise the clear outside app. gave sky quality.  @carastro hope you won't be too jealous.  Where I live the app says:

That's not too bad is it?

Its about 1 out i find , so you could be 3 or 5, also i am 4 in worthing ,west susex.

Roger

Edited April 28, 2020 by apophisOAS

[JOC]

1 minute ago, apophisOAS said:

so you could be 3 or 5

Perhaps 5 if I look North or West, and maybe 3 if I look East (a year ago I would have also said South too, but some idiots have installed 6 large floodlights in the last 12 months that def. have not improved South at low level.

[Saganite]

SQM ....20.89

Bortle ....class 4

[John]

1 hour ago, Mark at Beaufort said:

I agree Dave. I always check out the stars in Ursa Minor to determine the sky quality.

That's my main "tests" as well. Counting the stars in the square of Pegasus is another, when it's visible.

 

[carastro]

Quote

I agree Dave. I always check out the stars in Ursa Minor to determine the sky quality.

That's my quick rule of thumb test too

Stars????  I only see one star in that constellation and that's after concentrating.

Lol

Carole 

[Ships and Stars]

At 'the ranch' various sites say 20.65 to 20.70, but I've never seen it over 20.42 with the SQM-L and that's with all local business lights off which is highly unusual.

20.20 to 20.35 is as good as it gets, unless it's an exceptional night.

Beyond home, I have code names for my dark sky sites 🤣 (I know, I know...)

Dark Sky Charlie is c. 21.4 and is only about 20 minutes away, the difference from home is massive. Like doubling the aperture.

Dark Sky Bravo is c. 21.55 to 21.60+ about 35 minutes away, brilliant. Saw (or 'detected') the HH through the 12" dob there without much fuss.

Then there's 'Dark Sky Alpha', which I've only been able to measure once. It was 21.85, but I'm sure it would easily crack 21.90 on some of the nights I've been there.  It's dark enough there you can easily detect light on the horizon from an urban area 75 miles away.

Therefore home is a bit of a struggle compared to what's relatively close by, and once the businesses open back up (they were closed before the outbreak) then it's pretty much game over for visual from home. 

[tingting44]

right, well according to the FLO site my home in southampton is bortle 6

my dark spot at the new forest is bortle 4 which is about a 30 minute drive away

 

EDIT, been going through this map, its amazing to see like this how much of the earth we are polluting with light, i can only imagine what them countries with grey bortle 1 look like

 

Edited April 28, 2020 by tingting44