Favorite Dark Sky Sites

[naios]

What are your favorite locales to sky watch? Any interesting stories - like being chased by bears, etc.?

[turbo-1]

A sand pit in northern Maine many miles from any town. My interesting moments were non-threatening. We were renting an old farmhouse on a hill with pretty dark skies and there were skunks living under the garage, barn etc. Skunks are pretty curious little guys and they weren't shy about getting close to see what I was up to. I would just speak to them in a soft voice and go about my business. In the spring when the baby skunks were small, they were really cute. Night-time in the country, things are pretty busy - skunks and racoons foraging, coyotes howling and yipping, whippoorwills singing without a break...

[Wolverine]

My backyard offers darker skies than the popular observing sites around town (I live out in the country), so I tend to stay home. I've had experiences with a few curious (and persistent) bats... getting dive-bombed while on the eyepiece gets rather annoying.

About a year and a half ago on a gorgeous Moonless night, I had set up in a slightly different location out back, a good distance from the house. Suddenly I heard something moving in the brush... then a loud, unfamiliar grunting sound came out of the darkness, which startled me for a moment. I kicked on the flashlight and discovered it was a young deer -- she just stood there as if she were trying to figure out what I was doing. Of course, I had to laugh, thinking that Bambi almost gave me a scare.

[cjl]

My favorite site is actually the local HPR (high power rocketry) club. To launch those, we go out to the middle of nowhere, and launch away. At some multi-day launches, we camp out at the launch site. Our site is in the Pawnee National Grasslands about 50 miles southeast of Cheyenne WY. It is about 5200 feet ASL, and it gets INCREDIBLY dark there at night. The only light pollution is a slight glow to the northwest (cheyenne) that extends perhaps 5 degrees above the horizon. Other than that, it is crystal clear. Best view I've ever seen was M13 through our 10" RCX400 at that site - the number of individual stars visible was simply ridiculous. Easily twice as many as you can see from our backyard. The nebulae look incredible too.

[Melusine]

The observatory in Needville, TX is a beautiful spot that fulfils both your astronomical and nature pleasures. It sits in a small clearing amidst the trees. When I was there last year until about 3:00 a.m. (it was just me and some asteroid hunter), a raccoon came up the stairs to the platform and we startled eachother. It's kind of eerie listening to all the nocturnal hunters; the barred owls sound like dogs barking, you hear armadillos rustling in the woods, and of course there are plenty of raccoons.

Alligators have come right up to the building. There's a walkway to the main parking lot that cuts through the swamp with red footlights near the observatory, then dim white lights the rest of the way. At night you can sometimes see the alligators' eyes glowing red. There are huge fat bullfrogs. The path makes me a little nervous, so the guy walked me to the car. By 11:00 p.m. all lights are out. Alligators are more active at night, and they eat the raccoons, rabbits, and I am certain this one 14-foot gator snags deer at the water's edge. Maybe wild boar or coyotes, too. The paths are so close to the edge of the water I don't want to be confused with Bambi.

Driving to my campsite, I saw tons of deer munching the grass around the campers. It's an ideal place, but it is continuously under threat from highway development and light pollution. No matter what happens the alligators will survive. The stargazing is still pretty decent as long as you don't expect much looking to the northeast towards Houston's lights.

[orangeSCT]

Unfortunately, my back yard is pretty bad for seeing anything but the moon and planets. So, when I get a change to do some real dark sky viewing I try to make the most of it. The best place I have been is in the mountains of New Mexico in a true "black" site according to the sky clock dark sky map. The place is called Philmont and is a Boy Scout ranch and one of the most beautiful places in the US. I go there a couple of times a year to visit my folks who live there.
Being out in the middle of nowhere is great for views of the night sky and makes for terrific seeing. However, the critters can make you a little nervous especially if you are by yourself. The area I was at has had multiple bear and mountain lion spottings and my imagination was in overdrive. I'm pretty sure most of the noises I was hearing were chipmunks (aka minibears) but I wasn't sure. Anyway most nights I'm out there I usually spend about3 hours observing after everyone else goes to bed.

[Melusine]

Here's a picture I took last year of the observatory I mentioned above. It's in a clearing amidst trees on all sides; they built a hill to raise it to the treeline for better views. There are two smaller domes on either side with 14" and 17" scopes. The patio is large. The domes are creaky, though, and need $ help.

[Eroica]

Drumnacraig, County Donegal, in the northwest of Ireland - where's there more chance of being chased by a mad cow than a mad bear!

[Tensor]

Chiefland Astronomy Village in Chiefland, Fl. Scroll down and you can find a picture of the observing area. The site is available every night (if your a member) and also hosts a Winter Star party. The houses in the picture are owned by the people who run the site and if you scroll further, you can see the land around the site. The names indicate people who are also part of running the site. As a result, outdoor lighting is almost nonexistant (yay). Note the open field and the electrical outlets. Also the motorhome sites. There is also a communal kitchen and bathroom facilities available. For reference, the observing site is on the land indicated by Tom and Jeanie Clark.

[Melusine]

Drumnacraig, County Donegal, in the northwest of Ireland - where's there more chance of being chased by a mad cow than a mad bear!

We don't have cows or bears, just mad alligators and boars. I'd rather be eaten by one of the earth's oldest living creatures. The director of the observatory, Barbara Wilson, told me that she was once stuck inside the ticket/store/lecture building (beneath the scopes) because an alligator came right up to the glass double-doors and didn't want to leave.

Maybe he just wanted to buy a ticket....to munch on people.