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The arboretum light pollution lie, you have to drive way out
I drove over to the arboretum near the U campus last Saturday thinking it would be a decent spot since it's away from the main streets. Nope, the streetlights and the university buildings just wash everything out, I could barely see Orion's belt let alone any meteors. My kids counted 3 faint streaks in an hour while we were fighting mosquitoes the size of quarters. I know light pollution is obvious but I guess I thought a big open field would help some, it really didn't. We ended up just looking at Jupiter through my old 10x50 binoculars which was cool but not the show I promised them. Anyone else got a spot within 30 miles of a city that actually works, or is driving 45 minutes the only real fix?
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markm271mo ago
Figured real quick that "away from main streets" and "actually dark" are two totally different things. Same deal with my neighborhood, the park two blocks over looks perfect on a map but the gas station glow makes it useless. Seems like every decent spot has some hidden light source within a mile that ruins it.
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