# Best place to see the stars around DC **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 4, 2010, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-place-to-see-the-stars-around-dc/538246 "2010-05-04T03:36:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![audiobottle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bc8723/32.png) [@audiobottle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/audiobottle)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2010, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-place-to-see-the-stars-around-dc/538246/1 "2010-05-04T03:36:39Z")
I’ve been living in DC for a few years now, and one of the things I miss about living in a small town is seeing the stars. I have a car, I have time… any good ideas or favorite places to go lay back and just stare up at the sky? Any place I could throw down a blanket would be great. I know the Skyline drive isn’t too far away; are there places in there I could pullover for a bit and just look up? ---
**Author:** ![thirdname](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d07c76/32.png) [@thirdname](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thirdname)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2010, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-place-to-see-the-stars-around-dc/538246/2 "2010-05-04T03:49:39Z")
Some time, maybe 5 or 10 years ago someone did a study and found the darkest skies within a certain distance of DC were at the old Nike Missile site in Great Falls. There’s a group of astronomers that meet there on Friday nights. > **[Home](https://www.analemma.org/)** > > Website of the Analemma Society for education in earth science, astronomy, navigation, and the gnomonic arts Skyline Drive is probably better, it’s further out than the area they looked at. But seriously, if you want to see stars you need to get away from the east coast. Or have somebody hit you on the head. ---
**Author:** ![Jamicat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c67d28/32.png) [@Jamicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jamicat)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2010, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-place-to-see-the-stars-around-dc/538246/3 "2010-05-04T06:34:49Z")
glennecho,wolftrap,greatfalls close by…best to head out of town to Appalachian trail. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2010, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-place-to-see-the-stars-around-dc/538246/4 "2010-05-04T16:54:59Z")
Ooops. I thought this thread this was going to be about spotting celebrities around the Federal City. Never mind. Carry on. ---
**Author:** ![audiobottle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bc8723/32.png) [@audiobottle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/audiobottle)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2010, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-place-to-see-the-stars-around-dc/538246/5 "2010-05-04T18:01:33Z")
Thanks guys. I’ll check out Great Falls for sure. I’d go further but I’m still in my final exam blocks so I can’t afford to take too much time out. **thirdname** trust me, oh how I know. It’s been a long time since I’ve been outside of the city. I’ll take what I can get for now! ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2010, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-place-to-see-the-stars-around-dc/538246/6 "2010-05-05T15:38:38Z")
Here is a light pollution map/ap : [http://www.jshine.net/astronomy/dark\_sky/](http://www.jshine.net/astronomy/dark_sky/) IMO the green areas are just “okay”, you really need to be in the blue, dark blue, or gray/black areas. And of course, make sure the moon won’t be out or rising because the moon can mess up a dark sky for a good bit before it actually comes up over the horizon. And keep in mind to really enjoy a dark sky your eyes need to be REALLY dark adapted, which means NO bright lights in the eyes for at least a half hour and preferably more like an hour. And just a a few moments exposure to a “bright” light will put you right back where you started. And, bright means anything brighter than a CANDLE. Normal flashlights or passing cars headlights or campfires or your interior car lights are totally out. Get settled in the dark and STAY in the dark to get the true effect.