please empty your brain below

one of the highlights of my trips home to the parents is the fact that at night I can see the stars.
They live a fair distance from any street light and the houses are so few that their lights have no significant impact.


When we moved from Rainham (East London claiming ro be Essex) to rural France I was amazed by the number of stars we could see, even in our small town.

It shouldn't surprise me - I used to live and work in the Australian Outback, and there you really DO see some stars. Problem is - they are so intimidating (or at least the way they make you feel so insignificant is so intimidating) that it's more comfortable to forget about them.

Maybe our politicians need to be forced to look at stars once a month.

Just to be reminded...

I was surprised a few nights ago to realise how many stars I could still see from my back garden in a London suburb on a clear night. But really in England you are never far enough from conurbations to really see them in all their glory. It's one of the joys of visiting the countryside in faraway non-industrialised countries - or alternatively in some of the montainous regions in France. Belgium is a hopeless case. Too many sodium lamps everywhere and they are not even shielded from the sky.

Astronomy Picture of the Day is a good website for those who'd like to know more about astronomy but don't know where to start. Just go to Google and type in "apod nasa".

No need to go abroad. The European dark skies park is right here in the UK - in New Galloway. Only one tiny problem, as it's in the South West of Scotland, it's generally pretty cloudy.

Hear hear DG. I live in High Wycombe - not blessed with truly dark skies but far enough from London to be able to make out the Milky Way. I dabble in astronomy and I don't think I could stand London's orange haze!
Norfolk's skies must be pretty good as there's an annual 'star party' there, in Kelling Heath.
Finally, if anyone wants to see just what amazing results amateur astronomers can get even with our light-polluted skies, look here:

http://stargazerslounge.com/picture-week-competitions/

Patrick Moore used to call it the Aurora Bognor Regis.

A couple of years ago, my son came home from school on July 7 saying that everyone was being asked to turn off their lights that evening, both as a symbolic global-warming prevention effort and to be able to see the stars. (July 7 in Japan is Tanabata, the Star Festival, when traditionally the star-crossed lovers of the Weaver Princess and the Cowherd have their once-yearly tryst across the Milky Way.) It turned out to be a national campaign, with businesses also asked to turn off office lights and illuminated signs. We duly turned off our lights inside, but of course the street lamps stayed on (as did most of the neighbours' lights), so there was no chance of seeing any stars at all, let alone the Milky Way. I did think it was a nice idea, though.

Move to south London - the stars are much more visible from here than they are in north London.

Because of the light pollution in London I believe the University of London have their astronomly laboratory at Holmbury St Mary in the Surrey hills precisly so they stand a chance of seeing something!

A wide view of a beautiful starry sky does remind one of one's place in the great scheme of things.

@disgruntled

I was careful to say England and not the UK. Scotland is excellent for stargazing - but France is nearer.

Wow! Beautiful writing! You must be very happy living in your skin with your ability to express yourself so skillfully.

I live in the back-of-beyond now. Hate it. Too much sky and grass! And no tubes lines or buses anywhere.
Give me the city and it's lights anyday!!

I was having similar thoughts last night - I'm in deepest darkest Worcestershire at the moment, and there was a lovely view of a beautiful night sky. (And a lovely pub, for that matter.)

Nice post, DG... And echoing others' comments, there is nothing as humbling as a starry sky on a quiet night away from the city...

growing up in el paso, texas (toward the edge of town), i think i took the night-time view for granted somewhat. my younger self was obsessed with astronomy and dreamed of going into space, and i think the clear desert nights had a lot to do with it. we could drive 30 minutes from our house and have phenomenal views of the sky - to say nothing of what you can see at national parks in the western US. after years in cities in the UK and the eastern US, i'd forgotten how fascinating the view was until i went back to visit my relatives. no wonder i was so obsessed with the sky! such a view is recommended for all human beings!

Funnily enough, I noticed them when I was walking home this evening (I'm in Southampton) and I never normally do... Is something about the weather making the night sky particularly clear at the moment?

Theres no moonlight at the moment, which is probably helping

The prospect of a proper night sky, with distinct constellations, is something I always look forward to when going into the countryside. You just don't get clear views of our seemingly endless universe here in London, do you?











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