Where is it legal to set up in darker skys

[Edsland]

I live in the Chicago area, you can read a book at midnight with sunglasses on. About an hour west Sandwich, Lealand area has a lot darker sky's. If I where to drive out there what type of places would allow someone to set up a telescope and start looking at the heavens?

[Don Quixote]

Homer Glenn isn't very far from chicago and is supposed to be on the National Dark Sky Regustry.

[Ylem]

Hi Ed, I don't know your area, but I would first look for some parks. That said you may still need a permit after dark.

What about local astronomy clubs? I would imagine there must be a club in Chicago, must clubs have a dark site or even an observatory.

[Ylem]

Here is a link to some clubs by you
https://www.go-astronomy.com/astro-club ... p?State=IL

[JayTee]

I always put this location out there, it is a little freaky. But cemetery parking lots are never visited at night. I have used this type of site on several occasions, in fact one of my favorite dark sites is a cemetery parking lot.

Cheers,
JT

[OzEclipse]

Agree with Jaytee re-cemetery observing/photography.

Took this from a cemetery. Could hear what sounded like chains clanking the whole damn time I was taking the shot. Freaky



Was so dark, I had trouble finding where I parked my car. While looking for it, I found the source of the clanking, cows with bells around neck.

[DeanD]

Love the anecdote!

Nice piccie of the LMC. That really is a cemetery with a view isn't it! Was that down near Bateman's Bay?

A cemetery parking lot sounds (sort of) OK, but in the actual cemetery sounds a bit too freaky for me, especially if I was on my own...

[pakarinen]

The Naperville Astro Assoc has 2 private dark sites and a 3rd shared site available within an hour to an hour and a half drive from Nville. I go out to the closest one and it's decent. People from the club occasionally go out as a group if you prefer group observing / star parties.

White Pines State Park (near Dixon) is about the darkest nearby site I've found. However, the picnic areas close at dusk, so you'd need to pay for a campsite (about $15 I think).

[Edsland]

The cemetery site especially with Halloween coming sounds really interesting lol, thanks for the heads up about Naperville Astro Assoc ill have to check them out.

[OzEclipse]

quote=DeanD post_id=29622 time=1569845966 user_id=160]
Love the anecdote!

Nice piccie of the LMC. That really is a cemetery with a view isn't it! Was that down near Bateman's Bay?

A cemetery parking lot sounds (sort of) OK, but in the actual cemetery sounds a bit too freaky for me, especially if I was on my own...
[/quote]

Hi Dean,

Thanks Dean. Yes it really is a cemetery & the story is true but it's not Batemans Bay. It's at the Narooma Cemetery looking down on Glasshouse Rocks. My tripod was just a few metres from some of the graves. Sky isn't the darkest but the ambient lighting was. I couldn't see a thing around me. Looking out I couldn't see anything. The foreground and the beach below were pitch black. I had to compose using high ISO and preview exposures. I could see the rocks in the distance lit by some artificial lighting.

Enough of the thread hijack and back to the original poster's Q.
Other approaches - National Parks, State Parks, Farm areas. Go to a small town, check into a hotel and ask the manager/staff if they have any friends who are property owners or farmers who might be willing to let you set up your scope in a quiet corner their farm. Much safer for personal safety to be tucked away on private property than being in a public place.

Your nearest really dark skies seem to be the shores of Lake Superior in Wisconsin.

Joe

[Edsland]

No hijacked as far as im concerned, I'm enjoying the cemetery, and i have to say that picture would be a wall hanger in my house.

[JayTee]

Another, hopefully interesting, anecdote on my cemetery dark site. The first time I went there was on Halloween night of 2013. I arrived during the afternoon and set up and was unaware of certain things inside that cemetery. The cemetery is out in the middle of nowhere, it is an old west-style cemetery like you see in the movies. After dark around 8 to 9 p.m. I noticed from several locations red, green, and blue flashing lights inside the cemetery. Since I was by myself, I started to get a little bit worried. So, I grabbed my brightest flashlight, screwed up my courage, and headed into the cemetery proper. What I found was solar powered eternal grave markers with colored LEDs. To me, the last thing you'd expect to see in an old west cemetery. From then on, that site became my favorite solo dark site observing location.

Cheers,
JT

[Edsland]

OMG your a lot braver then I am, on Halloween of all nights.

[OzEclipse]

OMG your a lot braver then I am, on Halloween of all nights.

Not really, the creepy is all in the mind. The rest is only in the movies.

I laughed at myself getting creeped out by it. Better than going to see a scary movie.
Joe

[pakarinen]

This came up in another discussion, but if you're in the western 'burbs or maybe even farther out, CW says the local police don't take kindly to trespassers in cemeteries at night - potential vandalism.

Having said that, I've been eyeing a couple myself. One even has LED grave decorations...

[chartram]

Hi there!

I’ve set up outside cemeteries before, but I found my go-to dark site by first searching out the darker sky areas around me using https://darksitefinder.com. I drove out during the day and scoped out all the places that were on county land and tried them out. Finally settled on one. a county sheriff came out one time, saw what I was doing and said if I ever need anything to give them a call. Maybe worth a drive(?) Remote church parking lots are good too. When I lived in IL, I’d literally drive out on country roads in the middle of nowhere & set up on the side of the road- maybe got 1-2 cars a night.

Mike

[turonrambar]

Never thought about cemeteries. There are several outlooks that no body uses during the night.
One time I set up in Idaho’s Craters of the Moon RV Parking area. Found out the next day that they had a special place for observing and they kept people out with their cars headlights ruining the observing sessions.

[Jay6821]

There is a small cemetery a few miles from my house that I occasionally go to. It's darker than my backyard, but the key feature for me is that it is surrounded by corn fields so I have a clear view in all directions. It's also peaceful and the residents are quiet, unlike the teenagers who live down the street from my house.

[Jay6821]

There is a small cemetery a few miles from my house that I occasionally go to. It's darker than my backyard, but the key feature for me is that it is surrounded by corn fields so I have a clear view in all directions. It's also peaceful and the residents are quiet, unlike the teenagers who live down the street from my house.

[turonrambar]

Thanks for sharing your work. It’s beautiful work, because the photograph draws me in and I’m thinking where, when I could be, I hear the “clanking” too. :-)