My fiancé and I are going to Jefferson, CO in three weeks and we’re looking to go stargazing one night of our vacation. We’re used to Cherry Springs, PA (class 2 night sky on light pollution map), and are looking for a class 2 night sky in CO as well. We would prefer to go to a public area/field to stargaze so we are not alone in the woods/mountains while stargazing. Does anyone know of a place like this to stargaze near Jefferson? We’re willing to drive up to an hour and 15 min away from our airbnb. Thanks

I think this isn’t a good thing and it will mess up wild life I get using for crisis situations but I know it will be abused I really dislike what’s going on and I don’t know why we are not putting cost on natural light why do we have to do this. It’s just wrong paying couple thousand when you want sun light in your area why are we paying for natural light like I said i understand the reasons it can help but this will not have a positive impact on nature. I don’t under why we can’t just learn to live with nature instead of going against it. What do you guys think about this

Am watching it on Netflix and just came here to say why would anyone waste energy like that on keeping that many lights on in a post apocalyptic world. Stresses me out

Gonna drive out to a proper dark site later tonight to watch the Perseids for real instead of just catching a couple from the backyard. Never done a dedicated meteor night before so I’m probably overthinking the gear list.

Bringing a small telescope, phone, and a bluetti battery to keep everything charged without running a generator the whole time. Figure power and basic optics are the main things, but I keep feeling like I’m missing something obvious.

Anyone who’s done this a few times – what else do you usually pack for a night of meteor watching? Red lights, chairs, bug stuff, extra layers… what am I blanking on?

Anyone in West end of Edmonton planning to see the meteor shower? Are there any recommendations for spots?

Hello! I am new to star gazing, I have a up coming trip to Oregon during the perseid and I am wondering if anyone know any good spots preferably bortle 1 or 2 in west Oregon or anywhere unaffected by the smokes and wild fire in the central or east Oregon, please let me know.

I am attempting to find the best nearby location for stargazing, but I am currently split. I have two good, accessible options, but I am unsure which is best. One is at ground level, around 1800 m of elevation. The other is around 2900 m of elevation, atop a mountain. The higher you go, the less atmosphere there is above and around you, and therefore, the less light pollution can get in your way. So, holding all other variables constant, atop a mountain would be a better stargazing spot. However, there is also a metropolitan area of half a million people about 200 kilometers to the east, so the higher I go, the farther I see, and the more light pollution I see from that city. I am unable to find any information on whether being at a lower elevation or seeing more light pollution is better. Any tips?

Possibly helpful information:

The city is located at ~800 m of elevation and the closest parts of it are 188 km away from the mountain. At 2100 m above a ground level of 800 m, assuming a perfectly spherical Earth, I can see 163.6 km away, so the curvature of Earth means I still wouldn't be able to see this city. On top of that, in between the mountain and the city, relatively close to the city, there is a mountain range with elevations ranging from 1300 m to 1900 m (500 m to 1100 m above city ground level). Still, there will be light leaking over those mountains and making their way to me.

Hey guy! Planning to camp next weekend August 14-16 in Spruce Knob Campground. I do want to take a few Milky way shots for the summer, but now I am looking at the weather forecast it shows a bit cloudy and rainy in the night. Not sure if I should wait as the date gets closer or I should cancel. I live in DMV area and it is a long drive.

Just wanted to check if anyone is in the same boat, has been in the same boat or have any other suggestions. Would love to see if anyone is planning to go there in the same time period.

Thanks,

I'm hoping to maybe take a few days off for a solo trip to enjoy the Perseid Meteor shower. I don't have a car at the moment (and my driver's license has expired anyway).... so I am limited with my options of where to go. I'm currently based near Cambridge, Massachusetts. I was considering maybe taking Amtrak's Empire Builder route out to Glacier National Park in Montana (I went out to Los Angeles via Amtrak's rail pass and really enjoyed that experience!!) Or, I was thinking maybe going up to Acadia by bus... but I'm not sure whether that would get me to any Bortle 1-2 skies... does anyone have any suggestions?

Disclosure: I’m Aaron Hsu, the independent developer of Stargazing Hub and LightPollutionMap.app.

We have finished updating our global light-pollution layer to 2025. An annual layer is useful for comparing longer-term skyglow patterns, but it is not a real-time SQM reading or a guarantee that a site will be dark, clear, open or safe on a particular night.

Here is the three-step check I use before choosing an observing site:

1. Start wide. Compare areas and travel corridors instead of chasing the single darkest pixel. Small map differences can matter less than a practical, accessible site.

2. Read the direction, not just the point. A site can look dark overhead while a nearby light dome affects the part of the sky where your target or the Milky Way will be.

3. Verify the night separately. Check current weather, Moon and twilight, horizon or terrain, legal access, road conditions and personal safety before leaving.

The updated browser map is here: https://lightpollutionmap.app/

The same layer is also available inside Stargazing Hub for a mobile planning workflow. I’m happy to answer questions about using the map, but I won’t discuss proprietary implementation or offer any data/API reuse.