Went camping near Flagstaff and the Milky Way looked totally different

I drove up to the Coconino National Forest last weekend, just to get away from the city lights for a night. I set up my old camping chair and a basic pair of 10x50 binoculars, expecting the usual view. But when it got fully dark, the Milky Way wasn't just a faint smudge like it is from my backyard. It was this thick, detailed band of light with dark lanes cutting through it. I could actually see structure, like it was a real thing in space and not just a picture. It made me realize my 'backyard' is basically the whole sky, and I've been limiting myself to one polluted corner of it. I spent three hours just scanning along it with the binos, spotting little star clusters I never knew were there. Has anyone else had their view totally changed by just driving an hour or two out of town?

2 comments

2 Comments

mary_patel592d ago

Right? My first time seeing it like that I felt so silly for thinking my patio counted as stargazing! @tessa_hart18 gets it, it's a whole different sky out there.

tessa_hart182d ago

Oh man, totally! I did a similar trip to the desert last month and it blew my mind. It's crazy how much you can see just by getting away from the streetlights for a bit.