Dark sites ???

[Teddy]

Hi all

Here is a quick question that i am intrested in having answered.

I have been spending time in my back garden and so far its all good. but... i want to ask .. what do you people do to get to dark sites. Do you just drive to any field and set up. Just thinking coz i dont need any hassle from farmers or local idiots who just give u ****.

i fancy going out with my missus but cant think where the hell to go to.

sounds daft but ideas are cool. i live in salford so anyone who goes out there please give us an idea too.

Cheers

Teddy

[dark knight]

Hi Teddy, I went to Salford Uni and lived in Cheshire for over 30yrs, you are going to have to travel to get to a dark site as Manchester has terrible light pollution. Can you get up onto the moors that form the Pennine Chain, that would provide some great views, else head into the Peak District. Hope it helps...

Carl

[martintblack]

Hi Teddy

It's abit of a trek, but up here in Scotland has some great sites (when it's clear). Living near Glasgow we have okay skies, but not really great. Best place I've seen is up at the North tip of the country, Caithness. It has beautiful scenery during the day, and the blackest sky I have ever seen.

The Galloway Forest is also a dark sky site. It is well known for this, and I think has some form of status for being one (someone correct me if I am wrong please). Again it's a fair trek, but there's always holiday options. Cloud cover is an issue u here, but hey, were isn't it!

Hope that might help a little bit,

Martin

[Teddy]

Thanks for that lads. Bonnie scotland seems a little far but i agree its a weekend away. Love edinburgh so might combine the two

Yeah i work in halifax so Ainley Top is a perfect spot. But what do i do just find a field. Do people not give you hassel etc... i know areas that a away from street lights etc but cant get my head around just walking into a field and settin up. ?? or am i bein soft !!

Teddy

[Capricorn]

Don't your area but when I wanted to find a bit better observing site I went out during the day to see what possibilities there were.

Then I waited for a suitable evening and checked them out again, without a scope. Take binoculars to get some idea, as then you can look and stand next to the car. You get an idea of passing traffic and it is easy to put binoculars in the car and relocate.

[Bigwings]

Glider Pilots use fields occasionally when let down by the weather LOL.

If you find a suitable site its worth having a chat with the farmer as otherwise its technically a trespass.

Avoid quiet dark areas with cars around. Dog.... activities dont mix with astronomy as I found out when trying to set up in Clumber Park.

Clear Skies

Mike

[Astro_Baby]

Worth checking with local astro societies as well to see if they have a field they use.

[Sam]

I think that it's probably not a good idea setting up in a field without first getting permission. Some of the National Trust places have car parks that are quite dark and away from towns.

[Bigwings]

We have an airfield (Gliding Club that is) near Tuxford. Not a dark dark site really but quite good. If there is anyone in North Notts that want to use it then please let me know. Its on a ridge with 360 deg views and Tuxford about a mile away. Some hard standing for setting up telescopes.

[James]

I use some local farms - it's well worth getting to know the farmer and asking their permission. Many won't mind and will often pop across for a quick peek in the middle of the night.

It's also added security and when the weather gets really cold it's somewhere to go. A local farm I use a few miles out of Taunton is a chicken farm and has a huge well heated barn. Aside from the smell it's a great way of avoiding hypothermia.

There's often public land scattered throughout the country but be careful as Bigwings says. There's a car park some miles south of Edinburgh that surprised me with it's activities...

James

[LeoLion]

Hi Teddy , Ainley Top is close to home for me and 'not so dark' but instead of heading down the M62 home from there head out on the road through Outlane on the A640 to Buckstones Moss. This is at the junction with the B6114 and has a free National Trust car park overlooking Marsden Moor. There are little spots apart from the car park that you can pull off into as well. Worth a daylight recce so you know what I mean. Its at about 1,400 ft. When Comet Hale Bopp was around every little niche up there had its observers and their kit ! Some of the Salford Astro Society guys used to head up this way too.

There is a car park above the reservoir at Scammonden Dam

( which you cross on the M62 ) . The motorway lights are below you and the access here is a country road - near single track and 1 in 4 with hairpins if you climb back up to the B6114 .

Nice in summer on a push bike if you want a challenge. Southerly aspect should be reasonable down the rib into the Peak District over Holme Moss. Not a place to be when the ice and snow are about .

Have you thought about up around Belmont ( but you will have the light dome of Manchester to the south .

Hope this helps

Len E

[Tom OD]

Hi Teddy,

I travel about 60mins by car from the suburbs of Dublin to the Wicklow mountains. I'm lucky that my cousin lives there so I can set up in her front garden. This measn that I can runa power lead from her shed and also avail of some warmth in the house. PLus it gives her kids a chance to leave them alone and come out and kick the tripod and poke the scope for a while. Do you know anyone who lives anywhere near a dark site?

Tom.

[kev]

In scarborough its dark even in town, however to get pitch black, half way between scarborough and Whitby theres a hill with a parking spot on it - you know the type where the road used to be before they diverted it. It has a bit of a hill between that and the main road. Its very very dark there, and protected from car lights, and being in the moor no trees 8-) .The only problematic bit is that occasionally there's the odd couple doing what comes naturally!

Dalby forest has a observatory for scarborough and ryedale as, but thats out normally its behind the barriers when not an observing night. Also the trees get in the way, and retain the moisture from the nearby brook so its often a bit misty and very very dewwy. Its also a cold trap, I once left home at +4c by the time I was inland it was 0C and at the bottom by the observatory car park it was -2.5C.

Kev

[Breakintheclouds]

Get a 1:50,000 Ordnance Survey map of a promising area (or use OS's website) and scan over it for the little blue P car park symbols. Find a couple next to quiet country roads - the sort people park in when they go off for a day's hiking. These will probably make excellent observing sites. Gliderpilot found a great one down in our neck of the woods.

[astro_dt]

cant think where the hell to go to.

Hi Teddy

This web site might give you some ideas on where to go based on the light pollution.

http://avex.org.free.fr/cartes-pl/uk/UK-pl-relief-topo.html

Cheers

Danny

[acey]

Start with OS maps and look for accessible rural areas. If you have a major light pollution centre (i.e. Manchester) then see if you can get somewhere where all the light won't be on your southern horizon. Otherwise get as far north of it as you can.

Look on the map for public bridleways or minor roads that you would be able to access. Paying attention to contour lines and trees, try and find a spot that would give a good southerly view. Check it out on Google Earth. Visit in the daytime and assess parking, view, etc. Then give it a go at night.

I do all my observing from dark sites (on my own) - I used to drive 20 minutes, now it's more like 50 because of increased light pollution. At first I went to parking places marked P on the map, but you can expect company at spots like that, and they may not be safe. I prefer to have a spot where there's very little passing traffic, and anybody that does pass is unlikely to see my car. Passing headlights spoil your dark adaptation.

For a long time I used an ungated public bridleway where I could drive a few yards off the road. A gate appeared but I had room to park in front of it and go through the gate with my gear. These days I use a spot just off a minor road, just before it becomes a private road. The farmer stopped one night and had a chat and he's absolutely fine about it.

In the end you have to strike a balance between the darkness of the site and the time it takes to get there. My definition of a dark site is one where I can see the Milky Way clearly, which means about 1.5 mag darker than my back garden. That increase is about equivalent to doubling the aperture of my scope, and I reckon it's worth the drive.

Final tip:

Keep all your "dark sky" kit together in one place. I use a couple of big plastic storage boxes for everything except the scope. Then I can quickly load all my gear into the car without having to double-check everything. Early on I managed to drive all the way to my site, then found I didn't have my observing stool.

[matthewota]

I am in a Bortle Orange zone but just 27 kilometers to the North of my home I found a nice meadow in a Bortle Blue Zone. I went there and it was great! The Milky Way went down to the horizon and I could see many stars. I imaged the Wild Duck Cluster and had a great time, even though the temperature was -4C

[Izar]

We have an airfield (Gliding Club that is) near Tuxford..

Small world we live in Bigwings. The glider club airfield more or less

backs onto my Farm.

[DarkerSky]

Ordnance Survey's free Get-a-Map site at

Get-a-map online free from Ordnance Survey, Britain's national mapping agency

Is good. I am using that to target potential dark site areas fairly close by to me - generally in fields with public footpaths where there is easy parking and where I am unlikely to be disturbed by traffic and other people. As others have said on here I am checking them out during the day to assess them first. Then I take my kit out and visit the site in the dark to assess. If it is as dark as I want it and it and is as quiet as I want it I'll set up

[James]

Once you've got some ideas from an OS map have a look at the area with Google Earth...

James