Where can I find the stars?

Pompous

Hello,

Does anyone know where I can go to see the stars?

I live in Swords and on a clear night with no moonlight, I can see about 20 stars. I don't want to travel too far, I was hoping there is somewhere within 20km (cycling distance) that I can go to get a better view of the night sky without so much light pollution.

Cheers!

gumbo1

Pompous wrote: »

Hello,

Does anyone know where I can go to see the stars?

I live in Swords and on a clear night with no moonlight, I can see about 20 stars. I don't want to travel too far, I was hoping there is somewhere within 20km (cycling distance) that I can go to get a better view of the night sky without so much light pollution.

Cheers!

anywhere past St Margarets has very little light pollution! Particularly the naul road!

ps200306

Stay away from obvious local contaminants, like the lights on the M1, towns within a mile or two etc. After that, just get as far from Dublin as you can.

DJango brekfast roll

heres a light pollution map of ireland, i suppose head north, out to the meath/dublin border, maybe out the R125 (ratoath road?) and then take the R108,,, just realised that probably is the naul road, as another poster suggested...




heres another, which may be of more or less benefit to you...

Pompous

Thanks for the replies. That map of light pollution is just depressing!

I'll head out to the Naul Rd. the next clear night I have free. Cheers!

animaal

that map's depressing alright, but most of these light pollution maps don't really have a numeric scale, so it can be hard to interpret them. For example, the map above colours the Wicklow mountains in green. In reality, the sky there is decent enough.

I find this page good, it presents a simulation of how the sky will actually look at a location. On the downside, it only covers the eastern half of Ireland, and the data used is from 2000. But I wouldn't think the situation would be very different now.

Pompous

According to that simulation the only decent place is the Wicklow mountains. I guess I'll have to wait for the summer and bring camping gear with me...

I had no idea light pollution was this bad.

username123

Dont forget it takes your eyes a period of time to adjust to the night sky also. Sit quietly letting your eyes adjust, it can take mine anything up to 45 minutes (or maybe even more).

Pompous

Yep, I remember reading about that. Something to do with a chemical buildup in your eye when in the dark, meaning pupils are not the only things that control how much light you can detect. Fascinating

username123

Pompous wrote: »

Yep, I remember reading about that. Something to do with a chemical buildup in your eye when in the dark, meaning pupils are not the only things that control how much light you can detect. Fascinating

I remember doing an Astronomy course and dutifully going up the Dublin mountains with my telescope, sitting quietly for 30 minutes, just about to put eyeball to eyepiece when a car with high beams on came by and blinded me and destroyed all my careful dark eye prep work.

Pompous

Bahahaha xD

I'll be cycling from Swords, can you suggest an exact location in the Dublin mountains to go?

username123

Anywhere up past viewpoint.

Heres google directions to viewpoint from swords:
https://maps.google.com/maps?saddr=Swords+Road,+Dublin,+Ireland&daddr=Old+Military+Road%2FR115&hl=en&sll=53.234195,-6.272163&sspn=0.106446,0.268822&geocode=Feu5LgMdhrKg_ykhiab6Jw5nSDGRwNukoBS3TA%3BFYZmLAMd646f_w&mra=dme&mrsp=1&sz=12&t=m&z=12

Just go above there and you get to a nice non polluted area where the sky is all yours.

https://maps.google.com/maps?saddr=Swords+Road,+Dublin,+Ireland&daddr=Old+Military+Road%2FR115&hl=en&ll=53.151918,-6.641235&spn=0.106651,0.268822&sll=53.122878,-6.2677&sspn=0.106723,0.268822&geocode=Feu5LgMdhrKg_ykhiab6Jw5nSDGRwNukoBS3TA%3BFeMKKwMdR7Wf_w&mra=dme&mrsp=1&sz=12&t=m&z=12&layer=c&cbll=53.15198,-6.31073&panoid=O4i_7CrsQOzmDW8-hsYpog&cbp=12,280,,0,0

ps200306

I know I've rabbited on about this before, but I completely fail to understand the fascination with the mountains for star gazing. I know that lookout point up at Kilakee road, and it looks right out over central and west Dublin. It's barely seven miles from the city centre. And if the lights don't get you, the weather will -- mountains make their own clouds. West of the mountains (around Blessington) is better, because you are further away and on the windward side of the hills, although you're getting closer to major towns like Naas. You'd have to go a long way south of Kilakee in the mountains to be a respectable distance from Dublin, but you still have increased cloud risk, so why bother. There are flat rural parts of Wicklow and Wexford that are good, but if I was northside, I'd head north and west.

username123

ps200306 wrote: »

I know I've rabbited on about this before, but I completely fail to understand the fascination with the mountains for star gazing. I know that lookout point up at Kilakee road, and it looks right out over central and west Dublin. It's barely seven miles from the city centre.

That's why I said to go beyond it.

Ive no fascination with mountains for star gazing personally but from experience I get much better views where I've suggested then I do from my home on the edge of suburbia. It's a 5 minute drive for me up past viewpoint, so it's handy. Delighted to hear other people are not so fond of the spot I've suggested, less people, less cars etc.

The poster asked for an exact spot. I don't see a flood of helpful responses. "I'd go north and west" is a bit of a vague exact spot.

ps200306

Must tell the ice-cream man up there that there might be a lucrative night shift if he's interested.

"Go north and west" just means: "use your common sense; if there are no lights there'll be no light pollution".

Pompous

Clearly I don't have any common sense, hence the request for an exact location. No lights = no light pollution? Ah now, come on. Give it over.

I'll head out to that viewpoint asap, cheers. Any chance I can camp up there?

Pompous

I just checked the Wicklow mountains national park website, I'm pretty sure I can camp up there if I follow 'the camping code'. Cheers for the help!

the_monkey

How good can it get in those areas with no light pollution and on a moonless night ? are you able to see the milky way - like those shots you see from southwest USA ...?

Pat Dunne

the_monkey wrote: »

How good can it get in those areas with no light pollution and on a moonless night ? are you able to see the milky way - like those shots you see from southwest USA ...?

In short, yes.

Ireland is blessed with some of the darkest skies in Europe. Basically the further West, Northwest and Southwest you go from the cities and towns you will get some of the most rewarding views available at these latitudes.

Bear in mind, some of the views you are thinking of from the States are in high altitude desert areas, which contributes to very good viewing. Whereas here in Ireland we do suffer from considerable cloud cover, however if you get the night it can be absolutley wonderful.

ankaragucu

Was out my back garden in suburban Dublin earlier this evening with my binos and the visibility was quite good.Really whets the appetite to experience a real dark sky site.Is the Naul Road really the answer?!

the_monkey

Pat Dunne wrote: »

In short, yes.

Ireland is blessed with some of the darkest skies in Europe. Basically the further West, Northwest and Southwest you go from the cities and towns you will get some of the most rewarding views available at these latitudes.

Bear in mind, some of the views you are thinking of from the States are in high altitude desert areas, which contributes to very good viewing. Whereas here in Ireland we do suffer from considerable cloud cover, however if you get the night it can be absolutley wonderful.

Yes, Indeed I was at the Grand Canyon last October and was unlucky to be there with full moons each night ... ...

I'll be back in Ireland this summer - problem is im sure the night skies are bad in summer as in Ireland it never gets completely dark in summer months...


Anyone been to the Canaries for night sky viewing ?

They have an observatory there and it's high altitude, I imagine there is great viewing there.

username123

the_monkey wrote: »

Anyone been to the Canaries for night sky viewing ?

They have an observatory there and it's high altitude, I imagine there is great viewing there.

I havent been to the observatory but the viewing is wonderful in the Canaries.

The best sky I ever saw was in Africa. I was on a safari site the size of Tipperary and the sky was breathtaking.

Ive been in the Australian outback too but I dont remember being so moved by the sky as I was in Africa.

gumbo1

username123 wrote: »

I dont remember being so moved by the sky as I was in Africa.

Ive been to south Africa and the night sky is just as breathtaking as the scenery, particularly when your 300 miles from the nearest city!

ankaragucu

Go to Turkey every summer for holidays and skies are excellent there and always clear.Though in August the Perseids are better from Ireland, IF its not cloudy.