Sat. night Mars was spectacular! I could even see faint detail on the disc with my puny spotting scope. Of course, it helps that I'm 50 miles out of the city, with wonderful dark skies.Most major city light domes can easily extend 100 miles plus, horizontally and into the atmosphere, completely washing out the night skies.
Most people are finally starting to realize that with good efficient lighting, we can once again reclaim our beautiful, dark night skies.....
I'm lucky that the lights of Richmond don't extend that far. I moved out here in May, and the first thing that struck me was the night sky - especially the detail in the Milky Way. Gorgeous! Time to build that home observatory I've dreamed of.