Where can we stargaze in Northern Virginia?

Question

My fiance and I live in Woodbridge, VA and I want to surprise him by taking him stargazing but I don't know where to go. Any ideas near here?

Answer 1

You're pretty close to some good spots.  There aren't many along the coast. Go down to the Skyline Drive.  Find some spots that aren't too close to any of the towns like Roanoke, Waynesboro, or Front Royal.  If I remember, Big Meadows and Skyland are nice.  I also seem to remember seeing that Loft Mountain and Lewis Mountain are quite dark on my light pollution map.  I'm thinking about going camping up there in October.

And hey, if you happen to go that far, you might take a side trip to UVa. in Charlottesville.  They have a nice observatory west of town with a BIG refractor.

Answer 2

Anywhere outside is fine... But if you're looking for something guided, the Science Museum of Virginia leads things there (although that might be too far, I don't know where Woodbridge is) and also there are some things out of Washington, D.C. including some lead by the Smithsonian Institute.

Answer 3

Where else but skyline drive.  I'm sure you can find some great constellations in there and it's not too too far from woodbridge.

Answer 4

In the sky.......

Answer 5

I'm not from the area, so can't say anything specific, but from Google Earth, the best way to go looks to be west. I see a place not far out of town called Independent Hill Park. That sounds promising, but doesn't look to be all that terribly far from the city if you're looking for some really dark sky.

Probably you'd want to head a good bit further west for very dark skies. If you can swing by Independent Hill one evening and see how the sky looks ahead of time, and it seems good, then that would be a good bet. You might check around with some other locals just in case it's a bad place to be (I don't know the neighborhood - but it is out close to a marine base)

EDIT: For the life of me, I thought you were an Aussie, Brant.