How far out of city limits is it best to view stars at night?

Question

How far out of city limits is it best to view stars at night?

Answer 1

YOU HAVE TO GO FAR ENOUGH AWAY FROM THE CITY THAT THE NIGHT SKY IS PITCH BLACK, NOT ALL LIT UP BY STREET LIGHTS, ADVERTISING SIGNS, HOME SECURITY LIGHTS, AND LIGHTS IN WINDOWS.

A rural farming area would probably do the trick for you.

Answer 2

the farther the better.

a lot depends on your expectations. i can see lots from my suburban back yard. i can see more with a half hour drive. if i drive all day to visit family in the country the skies are so dark that m33 is a naked-eye object.

m33 is really cool.

Answer 3

The best answer I can give you is to get away from the artificial light (street lights, lighted signs, etc. ). Mostly you are trying to avoid the lights of the city. About 1 to 10 miles, depending on how bright the light from town is. Ever  try looking at the moon? It's best to view when it's full on a clear night. That's fun to look at and real easy to find.

Answer 4

In general, the farther the better.  The problem is, some cities are bigger than others and put out a lot more light pollution.  Even then, the "city limit" line has nothing to do with it.  Suburban areas, out beyond the official city limits often have large housing developments with a lot of street lighting.

So, it has less to do with how far out from the city and more to do with how far away one can get from light sources.  I love to go camping, for instance and one of my favorite activities is to get out of my tent, long after all of the campfires have gone out and just look up at the sky.  One of the best viewing experiences was a week I spent camping at Death Valley, in California.  It was, literally, hundreds of miles from any city and the stars were at their most vivid.

Answer 5

As far as you can get. My uncle has a place in Vermont away from any city. Up there I can see the Milky Way wicked clearly and I can see thousands of stars!

Answer 6

It depends on how large the city is, but in general the farther away you are the better. For me to get away from my city's light pollution completely along with the Gulf Coast's requires a 100 mile plus drive to the middle of a national forest. If you live east of the Mississippi river, or worse yet, in the northeast, there are few to no places at all where the sky's truly dark anymore. The dark site I use is one of the very few dark zones left in Alabama.