I’m from the northeast US. I studied abroad in Australia when I was 20 and we took a backpacking trip into the rainforest and hiked up a huge plateau (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Solitary). Certainly not like “in the middle of nowhere,” but far away from Sydney or any other major light pollution that the night sky was beautiful.
I laid down on a cliff and saw the Milky Way for the first time. It was cold as fuck, but I had a light blanket and was just captivated. When our fire died down and everyone packed into their tents I still couldn’t help but hang out on that cliff for awhile.
I’m much older now, with less ability to get up and travel without consequence, but I want to travel across the US, and I think while some of the Midwest may be boring, I’m most excited to find some dark farmland that will let me see the Milky Way again.
I’m from the northeast US. I studied abroad in Australia when I was 20 and we took a backpacking trip into the rainforest and hiked up a huge plateau (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Solitary). Certainly not like “in the middle of nowhere,” but far away from Sydney or any other major light pollution that the night sky was beautiful.
I laid down on a cliff and saw the Milky Way for the first time. It was cold as fuck, but I had a light blanket and was just captivated. When our fire died down and everyone packed into their tents I still couldn’t help but hang out on that cliff for awhile.
I’m much older now, with less ability to get up and travel without consequence, but I want to travel across the US, and I think while some of the Midwest may be boring, I’m most excited to find some dark farmland that will let me see the Milky Way again.
https://www.cleardarksky.com/maps/lp/large_light_pollution_map.html
You might find an area of dark sky closer to you than you think :)
This is really cool! Turns out I can drive like 4 hours instead of 20 to find a very low light pollution area, thanks!