Due to Thai Night-Sky Loss: I am planning a move to the Gobi Desert. For the stars…

[Ralf001]

2 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

 

 

  You do write some bo!!ox Gamma....     you studied at the University of Pisa ??? 

a while back he was dribbling on about some university in Canada , McGill I think it was.

[GammaGlobulin]

12 minutes ago, Ralf001 said:

a while back he was dribbling on about some university in Canada , McGill I think it was.

 

Great school, by the way.

 

 

Wish I were there....about....NOW!

 

 

 

 

 

[Baht Simpson]

Many years ago I went to one of the Similan Islands, Koh Miang. Stayed two nights. Only 1 hour of electric from a generator for a shower between 5pm and 6pm, then complete darkness. We would lay on the beach looking up at the firmament. You could hardly put a pin between the stars. It was astonishing.

 

The only downside was the dreadful day tourists who arrived in a flood of boats during the day. 

 

A real trek getting there and back but worth it for the night sky.

 

 

[save the frogs]

the smartass rabbi. haha ... that's a good one.

 

 

[LALes]

I remember camping in the high Sierra of Yosemite National Park in the early 70s.  Looking up from my sleeping bag out in the open was a very humbling site.  Hard to get that feeling in the modern world.  Good luck in your search.

[klauskunkel]

All five of Utah’s national parks are International Dark Sky Parks, meaning they have exceptionally dark skies and are protected from light pollution.

https://www.myutahparks.com/photos/utah-night-sky-photography/

 

(looks like inserting links aren't working on AN at the moment)

[Globalres]

I lived in South Africa, 1982-1994, in the Johannesburg area, I saw the milky way almost every night.  Amazing stars every night, obviously not on cloudy nights.  Amazing, still miss it.

[GammaGlobulin]

17 minutes ago, Globalres said:

I lived in South Africa, 1982-1994, in the Johannesburg area, I saw the milky way almost every night.  Amazing stars every night, obviously not on cloudy nights.  Amazing, still miss it.

 

There is something in our makeup that demands access to these things, such as the natural starry night, and a clear mountain brook with trees and bees, autumn leaves without the sound of jet aircraft buzzing overhead.

 

All this is gone, in most places where humans live.

 

No doubt, the impact of this separation between man and natural environment has already been deeply felt, and the impact immense.

 

 

[kingstonkid]

Has op looked at the islands Samed has beaches and open sky no big lights 

[simon43]

You wanna live in a city and have no lights at night?  Come and live in Myanmar!  I just returned a few weeks ago from a Christmas trip to the town of Nyaung Shwe (Inle Lake).  They have only 3 hours of electricity per day.  Mandalay (where I was teaching) has about 4 hours a day.  Don't assume that there's a generator!  When I exercised outside my Mandalay hotel at 6am (just before sunrise), the sky was absolutely clear and planets and stars easily visible.

[GammaGlobulin]

1 hour ago, kingstonkid said:

Has op looked at the islands Samed has beaches and open sky no big lights 

 

Nice island, for sure.

However, really too much light pollution there, or at least the atmospheric conditions are not optimal for proper star viewing.

 

If you had mentioned Chile, for example, then I could not agree more.

 

The problem is water vapor in the atmosphere as one nears the equator.

 

Cold air is drier, warmer air holds more water vapor.

 

For example: Chile's ELT... Extremely Large Telescope

 

Those lasers are IMPORTANT!!!!

 

 

This giant is about half-way to completion.

 

 

 

I would move to Chile, instead of the Gobi, except for the fact that ....

I really don't like heights.

 

 

 

[GammaGlobulin]

6 minutes ago, simon43 said:

You wanna live in a city and have no lights at night?  Come and live in Myanmar!  I just returned a few weeks ago from a Christmas trip to the town of Nyaung Shwe (Inle Lake).  They have only 3 hours of electricity per day.  Mandalay (where I was teaching) has about 4 hours a day.  Don't assume that there's a generator!  When I exercised outside my Mandalay hotel at 6am (just before sunrise), the sky was absolutely clear and planets and stars easily visible.

 

So then....

Do you generate your own electrical power?

Or, do you just do without.

 

Personally, I would like to live in a place like that if I had enough solar and sufficient battery storage capacity.

 

Do you wish to post the coordinates of your house?

 

[Globalres]

5 hours ago, GammaGlobulin said:

 

There is something in our makeup that demands access to these things, such as the natural starry night, and a clear mountain brook with trees and bees, autumn leaves without the sound of jet aircraft buzzing overhead.

 

All this is gone, in most places where humans live.

 

No doubt, the impact of this separation between man and natural environment has already been deeply felt, and the impact immense.

 

 

Yes, unfortunately man has decided to ruin many things.  Even medicine these days is copied in a lab with synthetic molecules which the body does not recognise.  On top of it we pay premium 💰for these copies and hope to get healthy.   Can you imagine people spending exponentially higher prices for copy handbags rather than the real stuff, the real stuff which at least if handled with care will last for 50-100 yrs or more.  Not saying one should spend a fortune on handbags etc, just an analogy.

[GammaGlobulin]

2 hours ago, GammaGlobulin said:

Those lasers are IMPORTANT!!!!

 

Just in case someone might be curious....

Due to atmospheric turbulence, large telescopes can use adaptive optics in order to compensate.

(No, they DO NOT BLAST HOLES IN THE SKY!!!!!, in case you are worried.)

 

 

I am looking forward to seeing the images from this monster, before the year 2030.

 

Speed it UP, Guys...!!!!!

 

Still, for the ground observer, the individual, having a dark sky, with stars from horizon to horizon, is much more fulfilling.

 

For those who have spent months at sea, and not in the north, while it is true that the stars are brighter, I doubt that one gets the same effect as places like the Gobi.

It's important to be HIGH, and to be Cold.

 

 

[IsaanT]

@GammaGlobulin, as you are interested in astronomy, I have three telescopes here in the northeast.  I have a 6" reflector on an equatorial mount, a 14" dobsonian and a carbon fibre refractor for astrophotography with its own custom-tuned guided mount (I haven't unpacked that kit since I arrived yet).

Being technically-minded, I enjoy the collimation process to ensure I'm really getting the best out of the telescope - it only takes a couple of minutes using a laser collimator.  I'm relatively inexperienced but I suspect there's a few people out there that don't regularly keep the optics aligned by collimating and are suffering accordingly.

I have seen the Milky Way overhead here in my village some nights.  The Gobi desert is undoubtedly spectacular but I can see enough here to keep me happy for a very long time, and I do it outside my own house which is convenient.  If the reflector doesn't do it, the 14" dobsonian pulls in massive detail and you can see thousands of stars in what looks like black spaces between the visible stars to the eye.  I still haven't quite got my head around the fact that space is infinite.

It's always impressive to see Saturn's rings, probably because they're not visible to the naked eye, or even using 10x50 binoculars.  Jupiter's moons are also another favourite - they're very bright and distinctive.  My favourite 'go to' is the moon.  Being so close - and bright - it is very sharp and I get a lot of satisfaction peering at, and into, the craters.

I expect some would suggest that there are squillions of images of the moon on the 'net so why bother.  I'd suggest that there are squillions of pictures of naked women on the 'net so why do we go to the bother of pursuing the real thing? 😉   It's always better in the flesh, so to speak...

We do get regular aircraft traffic here - there's the morning flight into Roi Et from Bangkok in the morning, and the return flight at the end of the afternoon!  Some airliners pass by at altitude from China into Bangkok but not enough to bother me.

 

Nothings perfect in life but it's much darker here than the UK where I come from (and I was well away from big towns and cities there) so I appreciate this and am grateful for the improvement.  Like the UK, astronomy is only really done during the colder months.  I recall some great clear skies in the UK in the winter but these sessions were always time-limited because of the risk of hypothermia or frostbite!  Fortuitously, that's not an issue in the Isaan.

 

I did just check the conditions in the Gobi at this time of year - it's -20C to -40C (-4 to -40F) at night - wonderful for star-gazing but colder than the food in my freezer.  I hope you've factored this in.

If you do get to the Gobi desert, I hope you find what you are seeking.  You've clearly got your evenings sorted but you haven't mentioned what you might do during the day.  Anyway, best wishes from a kindred (astronomical) spirit.

 

[GammaGlobulin]

59 minutes ago, IsaanT said:

I expect some would suggest that there are squillions of images of the moon on the 'net so why bother.  I'd suggest that there are squillions of pictures of naked women on the 'net so why do we go to the bother of pursuing the real thing? 😉   It's always better in the flesh, so to speak...

 

It is a COMPLETELY different experience to look through the eyepiece of a telescope and see the moons of Jupiter, compared to just seeing images in a book.  The reason is that one can finally grasp that the moons are real, and it's almost like being there.  The experience is not the same. One is seeing a changing image in Real Time.  Just not the same.

 

When I was young and in high school, I once ground an 8-inch blank of glass from Corning, using a 55-gallon drum filled with water, and without any other equipment. The process of checking and re-checking the focal length of a half-finished mirror using a candle is something everyone should do, at least once in their life.

 

One thing I miss about being where I am is that having a telescope here would be pointless.

 

One other thing most people should do once in their life is take a one-year course in astronomy at a decent university with a dynamite professor. And an example:

 

Much of such a course is spent learning the chemistry of the Sun, and stuff like that.

 

As for modern equipment for the hobbyist, the investment can quickly mount up.

 

Also, I think you mentioned the a Dobsonian (Newtonian) telescope.....

 

When one has the time, it's always best to build oneself....maybe....

 

 

[MikeN]

On 1/30/2025 at 9:24 AM, Lacessit said:

Gilgunnia, western New South Wales. The closest town is Nymagee, about 60 km away. It is possible to see galaxies behind the Milky Way.

 

Or there's Parkes, the site of an observatory.

 

Who needs 5 star resorts when you have a swag, clear skies and a million stars ?

Somewhere along the Cobb Hwy, in central NSW :

 

[JimHuaHin]

"These days, the Night Sky is a thing of the past, at least within 100-miles of any small city. Even in the countryside, these days, almost every house adds light bulbs, a few per year. Every year, new bulbs are added, without fail, for no logical reason, blocking out the stars, and even the moon." - Agreed.

 

As a young amateur astronomer in Australia, I enjoyed the beauty of our night skies.

 

Thailand - what stars?

 

About a decade ago, in Thailand, my then Thai gf wanted to see the Milky Way - impossible in Hua Hin.  One clear moonless night we drove south-west inland for about an hour before I could find a spot with very low light pollution so she could see the Milky Way.

[Lacessit]

9 hours ago, MikeN said:

Who needs 5 star resorts when you have a swag, clear skies and a million stars ?

Somewhere along the Cobb Hwy, in central NSW :

 

Further west than me, I used the Kidman Way.

[IsaanT]

11 hours ago, GammaGlobulin said:

 

It is a COMPLETELY different experience to look through the eyepiece of a telescope and see the moons of Jupiter, compared to just seeing images in a book.  The reason is that one can finally grasp that the moons are real, and it's almost like being there.

I couldn't have put it better myself.  🙂

p.s. My dobsonian is homebuilt, but not by me.  The mirrors were bought commercially though.

[Young Hick]

Just buy a large photo of the NIght Sky and post on your wall.  Problem solved.