where is the best place in the world for stargazing?

Question

i really wanna see like all the stars possible without interference from lights and whatnot. where do you think the best place to do that is? doesnt have to be in the US it could be ANYWHERE. im trying to plan a vacation for next year and it would be cool to somehow include that you kno?

Answer 1

For a clue as to the best stargazing locations, look to where the big observatories are.

The Atacama desert in Chile is the driest place in the world, has superb seeing, and very dark skies. As an added bonus, its southern hemisphere location gives you access to sights unavailable to northern hemisphere observers. On the minus side, it's a barren and sparsely populated desert, with limited tourist potential.

So consider Mauna Kea. Dark skies, superb seeing, a-and, all of Hawaii to vacation in. The summit, at 14,000 feet is rough without supplemental oxygen, but there are places to observe further down the mountain. Haleakala on Maui is another prime observing location.

Answer 2

Since you want to plan a vacation around this, consider Hawaii.
If you go to the top of Haleakala volcano on Maui, there's an awesome sky scape. Think about it, not much reflected light because the hawaiin islands are surrounded by thousands of miles of ocean.
A good sign that the stargazing is good is the presence of an observatory. Here in San Diego I would go to the top of Palomar mountain for the same reason. But who wouldn't want to take a vacation to Hawaii?
They also have bike rental called Cruiser Bob's Haleakala downhill, where they rent you cruiser bikes, and take you up in a van, you get to ride down the mountain. Bitchin- Maui no ka oi.

Answer 3

There is a place in South Africa called Sutherland, where they have set up the largest telescope in the southern hemisphere. It is one of the best places in the world to see stars. It is about a four hour drive north of Cape Town. You can even visit the telescope if you are interested.
Many places in South Africa have spectacular stars, the Cederberg (about 3 hours drive from Cape Town) and the Karoo (about 5 hours drive from Cape Town) have some of the best stars I have ever seen.
If you are looking for a really special holiday you can do so many other amazing things in South Africa. Just remember to time your trip according to the moon - the last thing you want is a full moon when you are trying to see spectacular stars : o )

Answer 4

For one of the last total solar eclipses, scientists from all over the world went to the Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia. This is a huge dry salt lake at 12000 ft altitude. Because of its altitude and pristine, clean air, star gazing is awsome. In The Lonely Planet this place is regarded as one of the most remote places on earth. You can stay in this place at a hotel built for tourists made out of salt blocks. The nearest city is Uyuni, a very small city, and when you are in the middle of the huge dry lake there's not a speck of light visible from anywhere except the stars. When you are in the middle of the lake at night, because the lake is so huge, the sky closes in on the horizon at all sides, you feel as if you were in a planetarium with the difference being the stars completely surround you.

Answer 5

I've heard the middle of the ocean is a pretty good spot (seriously, this was from a navy man). But your typical ocean liner keeps its lights on at night, so that might not work well for you.

Find a picture of the Earth at night (a quick web search should find it) and look for dark areas, and pick one of them. If it's a mountainous area, you need to be at the top of the mountain.

There's a place in Arizona that actually offers star-gazing vacations. I don't remember what it's called, but it might be listed here: http://www.visittucson.org/DayTrips/index.cfm?action=Day&DayTripID=2&DayTripDayID=54
I've seen ads for it in Sky&Telescope Magazine. I'd love to go someday - the skies in New England are terribly light polluted!

Answer 6

Lizzie, I believe the title of town in NSW is Parks, and they've this giant telescope there, they do have astrological excursions at a rate of direction. The excellent I believe I have ever obvious, and I hve been to a couple of locations, was once within the Australian Interior, the Kimberlies. That was once a guided tenting holiday, a highest of 6 folks, and there have been simplest 5 on ours, plus the consultant.

Answer 7

I don't know about the best place in the world, but the best place I've seen was at the top of a mountain in Bend, Oregon. I live close to D.C. where there is a lot if "light pollution", so when I experienced Oregon, it literally took my breath away. I will never forget it.

Answer 8

The very best place in the world for stargazing would be on top of Mount Everest (29,028 feet) as it is the highest place on Earth, it is above most of our atmosphere and pollution, and it is 100's of miles away from any light pollution. One time at night i was on top of a 10,000 foot high mountain and the number of stars that i could see was absolutely incredible!!! This mountain is near where i live here in the southern British Columbia mountains in western Canada.

Answer 9

Years ago I used to Live in Nigeria, I used to go to the Beach and just lay there and watch the stars, the sky there is the best I have ever seen, you get the best view of the Milky Way, superb, I used to love watching that sky.

Answer 10

I grew up in the outback of Australia. The stars there are amazing. The southern hemisphere also seems to have alot cooler formationis in the sky.