What does your night sky look like?

Mine is horrible. I live in Arlington Heights, IL. Not too far from chicago. Sometimes when im outside at night I can literally see the clouds lit up. This is because of all the light pollution.

Sometimes on a clear night I can see Jupiter and Venus. I have seen these amazing pictures on the internet where people go like in the middle of nowhere and take pictures of the night sky. Breathtaking.

Heres an example...


Anyones night sky look like that?

I hate that for you! One of the perks of living in the backwoods so to speak is the beautiful view of the nightsky! In the summertime, one of my favorite things to do is get a blanket and lay in the backyard and look at the stars! It is something that I never take for granted!

WOW!
i would love to live in a place that has a night sky like in your Pic OP
I live just outside a city so it can be bothersome somtimes with light polution however on a right night and in the right placce you can see a few 100 to a thousand stars in the sky

[edit on 28-12-2008 by Runningtobabylon]

I guess I'm one of the lucky ones here.

Living in the derriére (back-end) of nowhere in France has it's advantages.

Stars right down to the horizon on a clear night and a milky way that makes you dizzy just trying to look at it and this year was great because (thanks to ATS member info) I got to see some of the wonderful meteor showers.

I sat on top of my roof when I was renovating it in the middle of a beautiful summer evening and took in the full show of the Perseids shower.

I'll never forget such a spectacular. Thanks

Next up is a telescope to get some close "squinting" in.

Amazing stuff....Big innit?

[edit on 28/12/2008 by nerbot]

National Geographic did a article about light pollution. I found it a good read. I have lived all over the US, I've lived in the hearts of major cities and out in the country where my nearest neighbor was well over a mile away. I feel sorry for anyone who can't see the stars on a clear night.

National Geographic article.

National geographical Photos from article above.
Read what written under the photos. My screen resolution doesn't show the words underneath and many might not realise there are descriptions under the photos.
Enjoy.

[edit on 28/12/08 by Pfeil]

My highlight of the year (so far) occured the second week of Aug., up near the scottish border. Zero light pollution and a crystal clear, moonless night. The Milky way appeared crocodilian dominating the sky.

FANTASTIC

That is just amazing! I am lucky to see a thousand stars, maybe. You have got a great seat ... wish I'd have purchased that ticket!

Here (Motherwell, Scotland) its either Orange with the light reflecting off the clouds or black because the clouds ar higher or something and not reflecting the light. And on a very rare ocassion theres no cloud and its dark with some stars in :p

Mine is like the above poster. I live in Newcastle, its either orange with the street lights and clouds are with a clear sky you can make out a few stars but not many.

reply to post by King neptune117


Hi OP, I grew up in Mt Prospect which you know is right next to Arlington Hts and although our night sky never looked like that photo, I remember in the 50's and 60's we would lay out at night and one could see many stars. Its was quite a show back then. We always could pick out the two dippers and many others groups. You post made me realize that it's been many many years since I've seen these groups in the Chicago area. I guess all the towns have expanded so much that there is too much ground light now. I miss that star gazing.

nice but whats this got to do with UFOs? Is there no moderatorship here anymore people posting completely off-topic troll like attention distracting posts and it just goes on..

Originally posted by atsbeliever
nice but whats this got to do with UFOs? Is there no moderatorship here anymore people posting completely off-topic troll like attention distracting posts and it just goes on..

Light pollution affects UFO observing.

I've been out to the country with magnitude 7 skies and it's amazing what you can't normally see. I saw a meteor shower so bright, I could see my shadow. Zodiacal light is awesome but you need to be in dark skies to see it. I think living in the country, the odds of noticing a UFO go up dramatically.

Originally posted by Anonymous ATS
reply to post by King neptune117

 

Hi OP, I grew up in Mt Prospect which you know is right next to Arlington Hts and although our night sky never looked like that photo, I remember in the 50's and 60's we would lay out at night and one could see many stars. Its was quite a show back then. We always could pick out the two dippers and many others groups. You post made me realize that it's been many many years since I've seen these groups in the Chicago area. I guess all the towns have expanded so much that there is too much ground light now. I miss that star gazing.

O damn really. I used to live in Mt. prospect.

The pic i posted is one I took off the internet. My view at arlington Heights looks nothing like that.

reply to post by blujay


Actually, blujay, it is estimated that even under perfect viewing conditions we can only see about 1,000 stars with the naked eye. SO, if YOU can see 1,000 then you are living in an area of the Earth that is quite clear.

Of course, we all realize that during the hours of one night, as the Earth rotates, more stars will come into view, so you must realize that the 1,000 star number is meant to imply how many stars are visible, from the surface of the Earth, after being filtered through the atmosphere....at any given moment.

Light pollution is a big problem for sky-watchers, which is why space-based telescopes are better. The Keck Observatory in Hawai'i is on a high mountain, so there's less atmosphere in the way, and being in Hawai'i, less light pollution. Don't know the progress of a large observatory being built in Chile, on a mountain in the Andes....but sounds promising, as far as Earth-based Observatories go...AND, since it's in the Southern Hemisphere, will view parts of the Sky that are unable to be viewed from North of the Equator.

Unfortunately, I suspect the Campaign for Dark Skies is fighting a losing battle, but in the UK many authorities are fitting low pollution street lighting, whiuch keeps the light where it'd needed, on the ground. I fear that many youngsters these days may grow up never being able to see the stars, never mind a UFO.

Welcome to Europe

Welcome to the USA


WG3

[edit on 29-12-2008 by waveguide3]

Here in Baltimore, with a population of over 500,000, you're lucky to see 50 stars in the sky during the night. I've never had the experience of seeing the sky like the one in the OP and I've just grown accustomed to the darkness.

andddddd....how does this fit into UFO's I dont see any mention of a sighing here

in pakistan you can c millions and milions and millions of stars in the sky.

the villages with out electricity show millions more, and metorits astroids r allways flying about (11 every second (science) th Quran says warter will be sent from heaven, some of them have ice and come from 100000000 miles away the ice enters the the planet after the rock is byrnt up in the atmosphere!).

Next time I go on vacation far from the city, I plan on bringing my new DSLR, to capture my own night sights.


Found a great quote in one of the pictures.

We see darkness as a natural resource that needs protection

Originally posted by King neptune117
Mine is horrible. I live in Arlington Heights, IL. Not too far from chicago. Sometimes when im outside at night I can literally see the clouds lit up. This is because of all the light pollution.

Sometimes on a clear night I can see Jupiter and Venus. I have seen these amazing pictures on the internet where people go like in the middle of nowhere and take pictures of the night sky. Breathtaking.

Anyones night sky look like that?

I live out in the country. Closest thing to a real town is about 30 miles away.

Our roads are dirt. Ahh.. nothing like the smell of dirt kissed with dew in the early morning.

Our nights are nosier than our days; most of our critters socialize at night and our night skies allow you to walk about with nothing more than the lights of the clear sky to guide you.

Now all bets are off if the night is cloudy. In that case you will need a flashlight.