how bad is your horizon for astro?

[troypiggo (Troy)]

Here's a chart of the horizon from my back yard at home. Generated with Astroplanner, the green is sky that is blocked by buildings etc, the black is actual sky. What little I can see is heavily light-polluted inner-city sky (5-6 on the Bortle scale I reckon), and to the South is a footy field that often has its flood-lights on until 11pm or so.

How bad have you got it?

[pgc hunter]

That's more or less my horizon aswell Except in my case it's the western sky that's blocked, but that's where most of the light pollution is aswell.

[AdrianF (Adrian)]

Were I am at the moment I have 30- 40 degree horizons with light pollution to the south and south west, more so when the bowls club turn their spotlights on.
Up at Yarraman I have 5 - 10 degree horizons and no light pollution at all. Outside my property there is one street light and it is dim. Nearest house 100 or so meters away and he goes to bed around 830 so not a problem.

Adrian

[Kevnool (Kev)]

The horizon is no problem at all to see in all directions.
The draw back tho is the unstable atmosphere in which they flicker and refract into lotsa colours.

Cheers Kev.

[bloodhound31]

Whoa! That's a shocker mate! I would move!

My biggest bug bears is one tree to my north, (not an issue because the glow of the city is in that direction anyway) and one to my south, which canopy sits just below the SCP. I do most of my imaging to the east up to the zenith, a little to the high south and some to the west.

Baz.

[hotspur (Chris)]

Originally Posted by troypiggo

Here's a chart of the horizon from my back yard at home. Generated with Astroplanner, the green is sky that is blocked by buildings etc, the black is actual sky. What little I can see is heavily light-polluted inner-city sky (5-6 on the Bortle scale I reckon), and to the South is a footy field that often has its flood-lights on until 11pm or so.

How bad have you got it?

Oh my! -that is bad Troy!,I thought it was bad here the other night,I could see faint light from the Tarong Power station 60 Km;s away.May be that's not so bad after all.

We have a perfect view to north,with basically all the M objects visable.
When are you coming up Troy to camp a couple of nights!if you want a quick trip and not bring all your gear you can just brig your camera and put on my scope-I got the guiding going,Got a few interested in next new moon as the M 31 will be best height at a reasonable hour.

Cheers Chris

[TrevorW]

Can't Reach Above a Point

[deejayvee (David)]

I observe from my apartment's balcony. It's not a great view (between the building, the large tree and the street light across the street) but it isn't all bad. The patch of sky I can see (from roughly South to WSW) I can see all the way to the horizon.

I'm just starting out with astronomy, so the situation is not that bad for me. It limits me to getting to know one part of the sky really well, and the major constellations are, if anything, easier to find because only the brightest stars are visible to the naked eye.

Having said that, I would love to have a dark sky with 360 degree views. Just a dream at this stage though...

[Ric]

Hi Troy, I was having a look at my horizon this morning after reading this thread.

I estimate that I only lose between 5 - 15% overall, that is really nothing compared to you though.

[ZeroID (Brent)]

Hmmm, no, it's not a great horizon view BUT ...
It's very similar to mine ( mine is more Nth-Sth oriented) but you can see the SCP and the ecliptic so most things will pass overhead at some time of the year, just have to be patient.
My Nth-Sth is a bit deeper on the sth but LP kills below that anyway.
I'd be more restricted by Davids apartment view situation. And my LP is probably similar or slightly better maybe.

I'm still building an Ob to get max use when I can. It's not what you've got but what you do with it that counts.

[troypiggo (Troy)]

Interesting. Sorry to hear there's similar or worse than mine. Wish I could move, but the location (for other than astro) is unbeatable at the moment.

[cmr (Chris)]

Not sure how much I lose- have to work it out sometime - what I did do though was put my camera on a tripod and take a series of photos that I stitched into a panorama to make a custom stellarium landscape - did that for the few different backyard positions I can use nad the one front yard position - quite helpful to work out when an object may be in a suitable viewing position.