How far to your dark site?

[Andy ES]

Just wondering, as we get near to being let out again, how far you all travel to your favourite dark site and how often?

Also how much kit do you take?

I think mine will be about a 30min drive.

interested to hear.

Thanks.

[estwing]

Elan is 3hrs for me..tho Isle of Skye is 11hrs..😂

[DaveS]

About 20 seconds, to walk out of my conservatory

[tooth_dr]

I live just a few miles from an IDA accredited dark sky park, but I spend most of my time in the back garden as it's quite reasonable.

[Kon]

Less than 30s through my french doors to my bortle 4  skies in my back garden.

[Jiggy 67]

19 minutes ago, estwing said:

Elan is 3hrs for me..tho Isle of Skye is 11hrs..😂

Hey estwing, been looking at a cottage on the Isle of Skye, was thinking November, possibly after Galloway get together but what’s the weather like at that time of year??.....I believe it can be brutal.....I know you love it there

[Waddensky]

About 10 minutes to SQM 21.5 - 21.6. My garden hits 21.3 on a good night but doesn't have much open sky. The frequency really depends on the weather and my daytime commitments - I'd say once every month. Kit: my dob, most of the times, but a clear, dark night with my 10x50 is just as delightful.

[ScouseSpaceCadet]

60 miles south east to th Peak District, 60 miles south to the northern tip of Snowdonia and 60 miles north to Bowland Forest. 🙄

The last trip was 175 miles to Kielder in Northumberland . Special skies and very hungry midges the size of birds I tell yer!

If camping alone or with family, a 102mm Maksutov, lightweight altaz mount/tripod and a zoom and 10x50s.

Star camps - the 102mm refractor and heavy tripod, azgti and all the eyepieces and the binoculars etc. Then spend as much time as possible floating around looking through all the big dobs and cats. 🧐😆👍

 

[scarp15]

A selection of dark sky sites, each within a one hour drive each way. This is necessary to reduce fatigue on the way home. To reach darker skies; Scottish border, or Kielder area, requires a slightly more extended driving period. There are a selection of places I like to or would like to visit, overnight in a tent. Normally I take opportunities as and when they are possible, the past year being as it is, I think I managed two dark sky trips, none of course so far this year. 

 

6 minutes ago, ScouseSpaceCadet said:

The last trip was 175 miles to Kielder in Northumberland . Special skies and very hungry midges the size of birds I tell yer!

Oh yes, Kielder midges are something else!

[faulksy]

1 hour to my local spot which is mag 21. 45. or like calv elan around 2 hrs hence moving to spain next year with bortle 2 skies

[JemC]

about an hours drive north will get me to Forest of Bowland, keep meaning to go go but not managed it yet

[Pete Presland]

Compared to my Bortle 5, a quick 20 minute drive gets me to Bortle 4.  I have managed to book a week in August very close to Kelling Heath, also Bortle 4 skies.

But there does seem to big quite a diference in Bortle 4 skies. The area i drive to has a brightness rating of 0.454 mcd/m²  compared to 0.831 mcd/m² at home. 

Kelling Heath is 0.252 mcd/m² which seems a big difference from home, looking forward to experiencing some hopefully clear, proper dark skies. And the Persid meteor shower.

[Phil Fargaze]

A weekend in March and a weekend in October are my usual dark sky trips. 2 hours (90 miles) up to Suffolk with the camping gear and I usually keep it simple with just the 10" dob. In normal times I would have been going this weekend.  Going to really miss it, looking forward to the Autumn already! 

[Marvin Jenkins]

I do not have a faithful and verifiable way of accurately deciding Bortle scale. In some cases it depends on local factors, for instance, in the winter, my nearest village has local soccer under flood lights, so Friday night before midnight is B6

My garden/field is B4, might be B3 but we have terrible humidity/dew thanks to two huge river’s nearby that give a ghostly horizon 360 deg light up effect.

I consider that I have a dark sky site in my back garden compared to suburban dwellers, but the Pyrenees mountains are just over an hour down the road and Spain is just the other side. Dell boy once said “The world is your Lobster”.

If ten miles makes a difference, then it is worth it. Is it people on CN that say “the best accessory for your scope is a tank of gas“.

Marvin

[George Gearless]

I've got 2 hours to an almost completely dark site (1hour drive, 1 hour ferry). My parents have a summerhouse on a small island with no public lighting.  It's so dark, that on humid nights, I can see upstreaming lights from the nearest town 11 km away over the sea.

Since I don't have a permanent setup, I pretty much pack everything I have. It's quite a luxury to have mains access on such a dark site so I don't have to leave stuff behind on account of power requirements. I mostly go there in the winter (ofcourse) and the other nearby houses rarely have any occupants that time of year. I'd say I go there 2-3 times a year. It's only when the weather forecast is particularly good for several days that I go there. And ofcourse it has to coincide with my days off from work.

This year I've been quite unlucky, since we've had a long stint of overcast weather here in Denmark. The few days that were not, unfortunately did not coincide with days off from work.

[Marvin Jenkins]

4 minutes ago, George Gearless said:

I've got 2 hours to an almost completely dark site (1hour drive, 1 hour ferry). My parents have a summerhouse on a small island with no public lighting.  It's so dark, that on humid nights, I can see upstreaming lights from the nearest town 11 km away over the sea.

Since I don't have a permanent setup, I pretty much pack everything I have. It's quite a luxury to have mains access on such a dark site so I don't have to leave stuff behind on account of power requirements. I mostly go there in the winter (ofcourse) and the other nearby houses rarely have any occupants that time of year. I'd say I go there 2-3 times a year. It's only when the weather forecast is particularly good for several days that I go there. And ofcourse it has to coincide with my days off from work.

This year I've been quite unlucky, since we've had a long stint of overcast weather here in Denmark. The few days that were not, unfortunately did not coincide with days off from work.

Oh you are a lucky man indeed. To have access to site like that would be something really special.

Please post a few observing reports from there when you have the opportunity. Too many members on here have to battle light pollution and would love to hear what a truly dark site can give.

Marv

[carastro]

I drive to East Sussex Bortle 4 1 hours drive away, and once a year I go to Kelling Heath also Bortle 4 3 1/2 hours drive from SE London/NW Kent where I live in horrible Bortle 8.

There is nothing darker than Bortle 4 within reachable distance from where I live. 

Carole  

[George Gearless]

50 minutes ago, Marvin Jenkins said:

Oh you are a lucky man indeed. To have access to site like that would be something really special.

Please post a few observing reports from there when you have the opportunity. Too many members on here have to battle light pollution and would love to hear what a truly dark site can give.

Marv

Well apart from the milky way being an absolutely stunning view , you can clearly see Andromeda with the naked eye. I'm not quite certain, but occasionally I think I can see the Orion nebula too. But it might be my mind tricking me into seeing something that I know should be there. You simply can't look anywhere in the sky and not see a twinkling star. This is on moonless nights, ofcourse.

When there is a moon present, even just a quarter of it, you don't need a flashlight to go down to the beach. The moon light is usually enough. It is quite an experience to see your surroundings entirely lit by undiluted moonlight, unsullied by modern electricity. Looking at the full moon directly will cause you to involuntarily squint if you've let your eyes completely settle on the darkness around you.

I've only been photographing with my setup over the past 1½ year or so. Both my skills and my kit are probably subpar to show any significant advantage over pictures you're likely to have seen already. But to be perfectly honest, you can do so many things with technology these days (filters, photoshop and what not) that I'm not sure I'll ever gain an advantage in the AP department. It's the overall experience of being on a dark site that appeals to me. Dare I say that it is an almost primal experience. Before my AP days, I've spent many hours sitting in a declining lawn-chair, just staring up into the sky and wonder at the marvel of it all. Then occasionally walk over the the telescope when I found something on the night sky that warranted a closer inspection. Very therapeutic.

I sometimes wonder, when I'm frustrated by ISO values, guidescope malfunctions and over processed images, if I'm missing the point.

 

Edited March 11, 2021 by George Gearless

[Space Hopper]

Derby based Bortle 7

Our 2 EMS 'darksites' are about 20mins and 35mins away ; one near Belper, the other Wymeswold. Both about Bortle 4 on a good night i think.

[Captain Scarlet]

Depending on where I’m staying I’m either already at a lovely dark site or hours and hours away from one. The contrast between the two is fascinating.

In West Cork, where I keep my 12”,  I’m at a nominally 21.8 site though I did once measure 22.0. When weather permits M31 and even M13 are direct naked eye, as are easily the Beehive and Coma Berenices clusters.

Near London, it’s like orange soup. Only Polaris Kochab and Pherkad are naked eye visible in Ursa Minor, I’ve never once had a glimpse of any of the others and I’ve really tried.

Travelling from one place to the other, on the odd occasion it’s been clear and moonless  as I’ve got out of the car at the Irish end, the sight has made me gasp out loud with wonder.

i’m extremely fortunate that my wife hails from one of the few last near-pristine accessible dark places in Europe.

Magnus

Edited March 12, 2021 by Captain Magenta

[BCN_Sean]

The village where I live 20.6 mag right in the centre and then going out to ~21.5 on the edge of the municipal bounds.

[John]

I do 99% of my observing from a small patio which is about 3 metres away. The skies are around Bortle 5 / NELM 5 and a bit so not too bad.

When times are normal I can go to my local astro society observatory site which is about 5 miles away. It is not much darker than my back yard but it does have a lower horizon to the South, which can be useful.

 

 

 

[Pixies]

If only..... 

I only started last spring and so have had lockdown in one form or another in effect since owning a telescope.

But I'm ready. Once things return to normal, I can get to a Bottle 3 (21.75) site in around 30 minutes.

[Roy Challen]

It's a few thousand miles to eastern Kazakhstan...but oh so worth it!🙂. Haven't been for two years now, so really looking forward to getting back there. Don't need anything other than bins, even they're not strictly necessary.

Edited March 12, 2021 by Roy Challen

[Sky-searcher]

I am quiet lucky to have bortle 4 skies at home, can be amazing in our garden looking up at the Milky Way. But we have an ever increasing housing estate to the rear I have more & more light pollution from security lighting etc. On the up side the street lights are switch off between 1am to 6.30am so a late night observation is incredible. 20 minutes drive are bortle 2 skies according to the scale. I am yet to try them as usually happy to observe from home. But as usually happens, I don’t expect the local skies to get better, only worse over time.