my latest autistic obsession is astral photography, or specifically viewing the milky way with my bare eyes. i don't really have any gear or fancy lenses other than a tripod and a standard zoom lens, so i can only shoot landscape photos at 15-20 second exposure times. but ever since i got my first proper night sky photo, i have been gripped with the desire to visit a bortle class 1 zone.

the bortle scale describes the effects of light pollution on the night sky. growing up in moscow, which is a class 9 zone, made me appreciate any time i was in a place with less light pollution. being able to see any stars in the night sky at all is already a treat, and i was overwhelmed by the beauty of the night sky when i visited a class 2 zone nearby (due to the moon and clouds, it was more like a class 4, but still incredible)

well, only four hours away by car, somewhere in the middle of western kansas, lies a borderline class 1 zone. excellent dark sky, almost unadulterated by lights. so dark that the milky way messes with your light perception. going to sites like this is always a gamble. you never know what the weather will bring, and you can't ever truly anticipate the cloud cover. what i can control, however, is the phase of the moon when i will visit. i will wait for late october when the new moon comes around, and until then i will scope out the location.

there are a few things i will need to check out in the daytime:
- where to safely chill so i can take a camping chair and sit out and watch the night sky for hours (this is complicated by the middle of the zone being right on a rural highway. i just need to scope the area out)
- where to park my car so i can sleep in it (preferably without any other people around, so i can crack the windows open for fresh air)
- how many street lights are in the neighboring city and how hidden from them my potential spot will be

it's a great excuse to get out of the house and burn miles on my car. hopefully, i will be able to meet the locals and get permission to set up camp on someone's farm right in the middle of the zone. i think i will be able to manage it. it will also be my first time car camping. i feel like i can just lay my sleeping bag on a foam mattress in my boot, but i will also need to try that out independently. definitely a fun experience brewing :)

@zonk do let me know how ur car camping tests go! i forgor if u ever mentioned the type of car ur got so idk if it’s like a sedan or hatchback or idk

@gamer i have an suv so it'll be pretty luxurious lol. just have to find a way to fill the gap between the folded down back seats and front seats that ill push all the way forward. or i can just sleep in it diagonally lol

@zonk oh baby an suv time to channel ur inner steve wallace

@zonk maybe like a lil folding stool to fill that gap? i saw some ppl do that in some car camping vids

@zonk good luck man, that's awesome! I don't know anything about the scale, but I've been to places where I live that are HELLA dark during meteor showers and it was awesome. Space is fucking cool.

@zonk The last time I was able to see it was in Cedar Creek, NE. It was still close-ish to Omaha, but the light pollution there isn't nearly as severe as it is by Chicago/Milwaukee where I am now. When I was in southern Missouri, the stars were beautiful, though.

@zonk car camping! this sounds so fun, hope you find a good spot

@whirly @zonk meso should put some images of that fun volvo here

@zonk i should finally get a tripod for low light shit

@zonk also yeah. Photos are a good excuse to do stuff

@zonk Is there like a map thing where you can check where those zones are?

(Thankfully I Iive near the countryside and my town shuts the non-motion detected street lights off between something like midnight and 3am)

@lanodan yes! :)
ive been heavily using https://www.lightpollutionmap.info/

@zonk Neat, so class 5 here and with a motor vehicle (or train + tent) could easily go to class 3.