[SunkenCiv]

[Image Credit & License: F. Falchi et al., Light Pollution Atlas, ISTIL]

[Mr Apple]

Very interesting post. Thank you.

[Noob1999]

We took our motor coach to Death Valley last year.

The millions of stars out at 2am were breathtaking

As an east coast guy I had never seen such a show.

[Jack Hammer]

Fascinating stuff.

As a suburbanite, I can only imagine what the night sky looks like in the Boonies. It must be glorious.

[noiseman]

This map illustrates one of the many reasons why I love living in the western U.S. I remember a number of years ago while driving from Las Vegas back home (Denver) at night we pulled off the road somewhere in Utah because it was so dark the view of Comet Hale-Bopp was spectacular. Even in Denver it had looked amazing, but out in the desert with no cities nearby it was awe-inspiring as the tail stretched visibly across a huge part of the sky.

Even closer to home, at high elevation in the mountains the view is very similar. I love going to the top of Independence Pass at night in the summer (over 12,000 feet) and just being awestruck by the view of the Milky Way. There's a parking lot at the summit, so it's a perfect stargazing spot.

[ImNotLying]

I was in Somalia for six months in the early 1990s during the US military’s Operation Restore Hope. I had no idea what I had been missing regarding the night sky. It was mind-blowing to see all the stars, constellations, and planets so clearly. There was virtually no night artificial light sources in most places in the country.

[wyowolf]

One more reason to hate living in the South... I miss the stars at night. I remember all the times I used to go camping in the mountains, soooo many stars..

sigh... 10 more years til freedom.

[Red Badger]

I bet they can see it in North Korea!......................