Where should I go to escape the bright lights of the city?

Question

A modest question: if you lived on lower Fifth, in Manhattan, and you were beginning to discover astronomy, to where in the tri-states would you journey afterdark with your new baby telescope?

Thanks, Tham. Northern Westchester sounds encouraging.

Answer 1

Tham's answer is right on, based on local knowledge. That's another good reason for joining an astronomy club. They know all the best local spots, and there's safety in numbers.

Here's the strategy I generally recommend. Start with a good map of your local light pollution; in North America the best maps are on the Clear Sky Clock site, such as this one of New York City:
http://cleardarksky.com/lp/NYCNYlp.html?Mn=Solar%20Power

This map is colour coded: white or red is bad, blue or black is good. Taking a boat out into the Atlantic will get you a dark sky, but isn't exactly practical! Look for little pockets of dark. I live in a "yellow" area right now, and that's pretty darned good; the Milky Way is clearly visible every dark night, and hundreds of deep sky objects are within range of a 6" scope.

Answer 2

U need to get "far enough" away from a city to avoid its light dome.
I went 40 miles north of Dallas and could see nothing south of the meridian. Looking north was a whole 'nother story. I couldn't find the north star because there were too many to chose from.

here is a perfect map for u. 3rd picture down.
http://www.astropix.com/HTML/H_OTHER/SATPOL1.HTM

also google "light pollution map"
lots of interesting stuff

Answer 3

Somewhere you don't see any high riser bldgs but mountains and with lots of open space or to the country side like area where you will have all of opportunity to explore the sky with your telescope.

Answer 4

The country, mountains, deserts, plains.

Answer 5

Outer space or go to a place that the lights are off

Answer 6

basically anywhere out of the city

Answer 7

KANSAS