[jwdunne]

I noticed the difference too when moving to a town just outside of Snowdonia in Wales, UK. It’s truly wonderful - you just don’t see it growing up in a city like Manchester.

It’s Bortle 4 where I live and it drops down to 3 just 20 minutes down the road. One of the best perks of living here.

Time is ripe to invest in a good telescope, I think :)

[CalRobert]

I'm in the Irish midlands and can _just_ make out the Milky Way on a good night, but we've been getting more and more neighbours and they all have a fetish for bright uplighting. I'm sure the sky will be gone soon enough.

[dylan604]

i've never understood the uplighting. what are they lighting? air doesn't light up unless is it's foggy. is it cheaper because they can just put the fixtures on the ground? it is just so ineffective i honestly struggle comprehend the purpose

[CalRobert]

It makes their house look fancy.

[steve_adams_86]

I recently picked up a SkyWatcher Heritage 130p for my kids and it unexpectedly became a new obsession. I have plenty of light pollution where I am and it’s still amazing to check things out.

The 130p gives approximately 3.5x the light your eye normally sees and it’s quite portable. It has been a great intro to astronomy for me.

[User23]

A bad telescope is a lot of fun even in poor conditions. I got a splendid view of Saturn's rings in a Bortle 6 area. It's a simple thing, but seeing that with just optics is something I recommend everyone do at least once.

[madaxe_again]

Heh - I come to my place in snowdonia and I lament the sky, as it’s a 4 - but then I spend the rest of my time in extremely rural Portugal, where my observatory lives, and it’s a 2 there. No accident - chose the spot in part because of the sky.