[MHGinTN]

Driving up from East TN to Greenbank Observatory, there is a little valley the road goes through and along the road there are no lights. On the way up one night when there was no Moon, I stopped and got out of my Rodeo to view the sky. The stars were bright enough that when I dropped some change reaching into my pocket to extract my keys, I could see the change on the ground and cows off in the distance. The change was just pennies, so I didn’t pick them up. The star light was bright enough to see a barn off in the distance, approx 1/2 mile away! A plane crossed the sky from horizon to horizon, giving an eerie feeling of supreme isolation, as if stranded on a distant planet.

[cicero2k]

The star light was bright enough to see a barn off in the distance, approx 1/2 mile away! A plane crossed the sky from horizon to horizon, giving an eerie feeling of supreme isolation, as if stranded on a distant planet.

I've described it as appearing to be standing on the viewing deck of a spaceship, because it would not look that much different except it would be in all directions.

My Sony point and shoot, 30 second exposure on a tripod gathers an amazing amount of light. If there is any moonlight, even a cresent; and the entire valley lights up as if in daylight. Just with stars in the sky instead.

[OneVike]

Thanks for the very descriptive memory.

It’s memories like that which the Lord wanted us to have and that is one of the reasons he painted such a beautiful sky for us.

[dr_lew]

Under ideal conditions of darkness, starlight contributes only seven percent of the brightness of the night sky, which is predominantly due to airglow and zodiacal light. I suspect that in all but the remotest areas, "light pollution" from distant sources dominates any natural cause.

My retinas have aged pretty well, but in a reasonably dark sky ( i.e. one with a prominent milky way ) I find that "retinal noise" is the principal limitation to my acuity with binoculars or a telescope.

[Smokin' Joe]

It's like that here, when you get out on the prairie, especially in the winter. From horizon to horizon, not a cloud in the sky, crisp, cold air so robbed of moisture it even mutes the 'twinkle' of the stars--so many that it looks like you could fall off the planet.

I never saw the night sky like that in a more humid area.