- City lights pollute the night sky. But there are still places to go for comets and stargazing.
- Dark sky parks and IDA-certified locations are the best places to view cosmic events.
- From Alaska to Wyoming, here’s a list of some of the darkest skies in each of the 50 US states.
Light pollution can obstruct your view of catching spectacular cosmic sights like meteor showers, distant planets, the Milky Way galaxy, and this month’s comet — Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS, or Comet A3.
Comet A3 is the best opportunity in years to see a bright comet. Starting Friday, it should be visible above the twilight horizon and grow brighter over the next few days, possibly reaching peak brightness the week of October 14. It will shine in the west, just left of the Big Dipper. To catch the best show, you’ll want to get to a dark sky.
Some of the darkest skies are areas that limit night lights. These are often officially zoned “dark sky parks”, which have clear views of the night sky when the weather permits.
There is even an International Dark-Sky Association, which can dole out an official Dark Sky park status. Only the clearest night skies, unimpeded by light pollution, are allowed the honorable IDA-certified title.
Over half of the 50 US states have at least one location that’s IDA-certified. And some states, like Utah and Michigan, have many. We’ve compiled a list of some of the darkest places in each US state for the best front-row seats to any celestial show.
Read the full article here
