Light polution any where in the UK

[LukeSkywatcher]

The S@N LP map shows a small area just a few miles south of me as being the only true dark sky site in or around Dublin. Its just outside of a small town/village that i was looking at as a possible location for a new house. Now i know it is LP free the town/village is on the top of my list of possible locations to move to,.

[Tim]

Good for planning star parties that, cheers.

[JamesK]

Mine's remarkably accurate Wigan- about 4.5 limiting mag. Never mind home is where the heart is, I'm moving to Highland Scotland...

[LukeSkywatcher]

I WAS thinking of relocating to east Sussex or Surrey from Ireland to be closer to mums family. However i am now thinking the middle of nowhere in Scotland would be an all round better investment.

[Iris]

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

contains a legend - and the map is fully zoomable too - if a little slow.

That looks like it could be a lot more accurate, I cant see a key on there to tel me what the different colours mean though

[Saturnalia]

That looks like it could be a lot more accurate, I cant see a key on there to tel me what the different colours mean though

Here's a key to the colours:

LINK

Bear in mind that it is written by a Frenchman so the English is not perfect.

Iris - that webpage is OK but I found that if you zoom in it gets increasingly difficult to read the text.

If you haven't tried it yet use the Google tool I linked to earlier - you can zoom all the way then and read the map underneath

[Iris]

Thanks Saturnalia - I tried the KML a while back with a previous version of GoogleEarth but it did not like it at all.

Subsequently I have installed a newer version of GE and it seems to work a peach, of course I don't really need it now lol

[Saturnalia]

[hemihaggis]

if you look up and see the milkyway ...you in good spot ..simple

[moocher]

Added to my favorites!!!!

Alan:)

[simon955]

Nice site thanks for posting it. Fairly accurate for my dark site, not so sure about my home site tho.

[klytus]

Great links,thanks gives me a better idea where to go to get some decent views.

[Llamanaut]

great link, my obs position is a stones throw away from the darkest site in Dorset... bring it on!!!!!

[crowlord]

The question is...how do i break it to the wife that we are moving to the Outer Hebrides?

[Beulah]

That Need-Less Light Pollution dark sky map the OP posted is inaccurate for my area; Bortle 5 was rated for where I live; yet according to thie Bortle's Dark Sky Scale, my area is suburban with a "washed out" Milky Way. I live in a rural area with no immediate light pollution except occasional domestic external and internal illumination. (If I am out at 1am, that changes when everyone is in bed.)

I didn't recall seeing a "washed out" Milky Way; when it was in Saggitarius, it stretched across 60% of the sky with a definite structure.

[John S]

Great link, better than my Darksky map.

[OptiGone]

Indeed. Seems spot on for my location.

Nice share.

[dmahon]

Interesting - 5.15 for me.

[richbyers]

Me and my brother used to camp near where i live in the lakes on the fell tops- now that was dark skies

rich

[astronymonkey]

I got a bortle score of 8 wih a limiting mag of 4.4. This seems pretty close to what I have.

Cool stuff , but it does make me envious of those who live under darker skies.

This will also help my holiday planning for next year.

Cheers,

Astro

[SiriusB]

Very Interesting link,

either i've NEVER seen a decent dark sky or err... some of it needs a wee pinch of salt.

I mean m33 "easy to see" with the naked eye??

I saw it a few times on really clear nights as a teenager, & to be honest one or two people i've told didn't quite believe me- i thought there was some debate as to whether you actually CAN see it with the naked eye?. i say you can, but i doubt its ever been EASY ?

Actually on 2nd thoughts it probably is for Stephen J. O'Meara, but he's bionic!

However that aside a good post & link

Cheers.

[spaceboy]

This is a good web site. Setup and General Info at CalSky Enter your location details etc. Then print out several pictures of the sky varying the star magnitudes. Sit out back on your deck chair and see what stars you can make out once your eyes have adapted. Check through the print outs and match the print to what you are seeing. Hey presto you have your naked eye magnitude of your site. You can always keep the print outs in the car and if you are under dark skies near by do the same. I sat out for 30 minutes with 4 print outs while my my eyes adjusted or telescope cools down and Mag 3.0 - 3.5 is the best I get to the naked eye and I'm 7 mile from Birmingham town center. I have to drive 20 miles to find 5.0-5.5 mag stars and see the milky way but I can always see the dawn rising from Birmingham's glow in the distance. I read on one website in America that a guy could still see the glow from a city a 100 Mile away so I doubt anyone in a UK urban enviorment will ever get away from light pollution with in a reasonable driving distance.

[JB80]

^ I like that site, it's a good idea. Shame tonight is cloudy.

Also it seems that I am in one of the most LP places in the world, see the bright red area over Belgium somewhere near the Royal Observatory is where I'm at.

[nitram100]

Bortle 9, Limiting Magnitude 3.95 lol, pretty pathetic!

Then again, it doesn't take much to please me and even from this cesspit sky I am impressed on a clear night, can't imagine what it will be like when I move to clearer skies.

[spaceboy]

We may not have to worry for much longer as apparently UK power stations are out dated and not upto the job. I bet if we all arranged a time to turn on every thing in the house at the same time we could get several hours of dark skies all over the UK