Best Spots To View Stars Without Light Pollution

Light pollution is a growing problem for stargazers, but there are still ways to see the night sky in all its glory. If you want to see the Milky Way, you'll need to find a dark sky away from city lights. The further you travel from a population centre, the less light pollution you'll encounter. You can also visit a 'Dark Sky Reserve', where light pollution is closely monitored and minimised.

Dark Sky Reserves: places where light pollution is closely monitored and minimised

If you want to see the stars without light pollution, you need to find dark skies away from city lights. Light pollution is caused by stray light from parking lots, sports complexes, street lights, and other human activity. The further you get from a population centre, the less light pollution there will be.

To combat this issue, associations around the world have started creating 'Dark Sky Reserves' – places where light pollution is closely monitored and minimised with the help of local communities, so that stargazing becomes easier and more enjoyable. These areas are usually located near observatories, so they promote astronomy and become a good point of attraction for astro-tourism. Dark Sky Reserves also promote the rich cultural heritage of the local stories and historical events built around the starry nights.

Using a telescope: a small to medium aperture telescope can help you see interesting star systems

If you're looking to see the stars without light pollution, you'll need to find a dark sky away from city lights. There are many more faint stars in the sky than bright ones, and only the brightest stars and planets are visible in bright, urban skies. Light pollution is caused by stray light from parking lots, sports complexes, street lights, and other human activity. The further you are from a population centre, the less light pollution there will be.

With a bit of careful planning and a light pollution filter, you can get great views of deep-sky objects through your telescope, even from a city. If you live near mountains, they can also help to block light. If you're unable to travel to a dark sky site, you can also try using a light pollution filter to improve your view of the stars.

Star-hopping: jumping from star to star to locate fainter objects

To see the stars without light pollution, you need to find a dark sky away from city lights. Light pollution is caused by stray light from parking lots, sport complexes, street lights, and other human activity. The further you go from a population centre, the less light pollution there will be. Therefore, to see the stars, you need to go at least 20 to 30 miles from the city limits. Mountains can also help to block light.

Star-hopping is a technique that can be used to locate fainter objects in the night sky. It involves jumping from star to star, using a telescope to find interesting targets such as brighter double and multiple-star systems, where two or more stars either appear close together or are whirling together as a gravitationally-bound group through space.

For example, in the summer and autumn months, Albireo (Beta (β) Cygni) in Cygnus, and Epsilon (ε) Lyrae in Lyra, are comfortably within reach of a 150–200mm aperture telescope from sites with fairly bright night skies. Some variable stars, such as Algol (Beta (β) Persei) in Perseus, also periodically glow strongly enough to be seen through moderate light pollution.

With careful planning and a light pollution filter, it is possible to get great views of deep-sky objects through a telescope, even from a city. This technique can be especially useful for those who are interested in long-term observing projects with a telescope.

There are also "Dark Sky Reserves", places where light pollution is closely monitored and minimised with the help of local communities, making it easier to enjoy the night sky. These areas are usually located near observatories to promote astronomy and astro-tourism.

Light pollution filters: these can help you get great views of deep-sky objects through your telescope

Light pollution is stray light from parking lots, sport complexes, street lights, and other human activity. It's a combined effect of scattered light from these things that manifests as a glow in the night sky. The amount of skyglow from light pollution diminishes as you venture further outward from a population centre. So, heading outward from town, at least 20 to 30 miles from the city limits, is key.

Light pollution filters can help you get great views of deep-sky objects through your telescope. They can partially compensate for the obliterating orange glow of light pollution by improving contrast. There are two different types of light pollution filters: broadband light pollution filters and an ultra-high contrast or narrowband OIII filter. The former darkens the background sky and increases contrast on deep-sky objects in telescopes, while the latter reveals more detail and faint extensions and tendrils in bright nebulae like the Orion Nebula or the Lagoon Nebula.

The Burgess Optical Broadband Nebula Filter is the cheapest model we tested during our exploration of the best light pollution filters, and it still manages to give reasonable views of the Orion Nebula. The background sky isn’t quite as dark as we would have liked, but the green-blue hint is also not as overpowering as colours in the other filters.

Even if you can't get to a dark-sky site, with a bit of careful planning and a light pollution filter, you should be able to get great views of deep-sky objects through your telescope, even from a city.

Dark skies: the further you are from a population centre, the less light pollution there will be

The further you are from a population centre, the less light pollution there will be. This is because light pollution is caused by stray light from parking lots, sport complexes, street lights, and other human activity. The combined effect of this scattered light creates a glow in the night sky, obscuring the stars.

To see more stars, you need dark skies away from city lights. The darker the sky, the better. This is especially true if you want to see the Milky Way. There are many more faint stars in the sky than bright ones, and only the brightest stars and planets are visible in bright, urban skies.

To see more stars, you need to head outward from town, at least 20 to 30 miles from the city limits. If you live near mountains, they can help to block light.

Associations around the world have started creating "Dark Sky Reserves", where light pollution is closely monitored and minimised with the help of local communities. These areas are usually located near observatories to promote astronomy and astro-tourism.

Frequently asked questions