What are Dark Skies?
The UK has some of the largest areas of dark sky in Europe. You can find dark
skies near where you live, if you can get away from bright lights such as street
lighting. That could be in your back garden, a local park, or getting out of
town altogether. From a city centre location we might see about 100 stars with
our naked eyes, and the further away from the streetlights you go, the better
the view becomes. Under a really dark sky we can see over 1,000 stars. We can
even see our own galaxy, The Milky Way, stretching across the sky.
(Picture Credit: www.cpre.org.uk)
The dark areas on these maps have less light pollution, showing just how special some parts of the UK's dark skies really are.
Some good websites on dark skies are:
The Campaign for
Dark Skies
British Astronomical
Association
Campaign
for the Protection of Rural England
Globe at Night Project
Philip’s publishes a Dark Sky Map of Britain and Ireland.