The Darkest Skies
in Florida

"Clear skies during 1st set, increasing clouds and worsening transparency during 2nd set."

"Excellent zodiacal light at astronomical twilight. Visible all the way to Pleadies at 70°!. Milky Way visible from light dome of Naples/Fort Meyers to light dome of Marathon (?), but not too much detail. East coast light dome of Miami, etc. easily visible to 15° above horizon. Numerous light domes along Florida Keys, with some lingering clouds hanging over most of the islands. Great detail in Orion near the zenith. Beehive Cluster eaily visible and the Southern Cross also seen."

"Excellent site for night sky observing. The light dome from Naples/Fort Meyers is easily visible to about 20° above horizon, but does not significantly impact the detail in the sky above. Miami/Ft Lauderdale light dome visible in the east to about 15°. Almost totally clear skies with good transparency and seeing. Fairly good detail in the Milky Way."

"Clouds never completely cleared through the night, especially to the east and southeast. Stars only visible to 15° in the north and maybe 10° in the south. The light dome from Miami/Fort Lauderdale area is visible to about 25° in the east. The light dome from the Big Cypress Indian Reservation development about 10 miles NNW is easily visible. Not much detail seen in the sky."

"Significant direct glare"

"Set up in the middle of parking area at Apollo #5. Lots of fire smoke during the day and into the evening from wildfire to the SW towards Orlando. Smoke visible throughout the evening along the horizon from the north to the west and south. The worst of it was over Kennedy Space Center. This location provides a nice option for relatively dark skies, given its more remote location from developed areas. There were constant airplanes visible, probably going in and out of Orlando."

"Set camera up on boardwalk on top of dune ridge. Excellent site to capture light domes around entire horizon. Very bright glare sources from Launch Pad 39A at Kennedy Space Center in addtion to blinking lights at another launch pad. Titusville is excptionally bright to the WSW. Even with these bright sources of skyglow and glare the night sky was very good for an Eastern US location. Humidity levels were low and there was some significant fire smoke on the west and south horizons from a wildfire east of Orlando. Another completely cloud free evening with very good transparency."

"Set up at the end of the fishing pier at Eddy Creek. Cloud free night to begin but a quick band of mid-level clouds moved through later in the evening. There was fire smoke along the horizon to the west that mostly settled down after dark. This site is an excellent location for star gazing as the horizon is slightly blocked by vegetation, which blocks the direct glare from NASA facilities and the town of Titusville. The light domes of Kennedy Space Center, Titusville, Orlando, and New Smyrna Beach/Daytona Beach are all easily visible. A few bright glare sources from the launch pads and vehicle assembly building at the Space Center were very impactful, as were some unshielded lights in Titusville. SQM reading of 20.88"

"Set up equipment on grass air strip just NE of NPS fire weather station. Numerous feral horses grazing nearby, though they did not seem interested in the equipment. This site provides a great location for stagazing, as the nearby light domes from communities and the Navy base are mostly blocked by the surrounding forest. Given the size of the cleared area around the landing strip, the tree line only extends to about 5 degrees above the natural horizon. For the nearby campground, this is an excellent area for visitors to enjoy the night sky. The light dome from Jacksonville is very prominent to the south and the Naval Submarine base also brightens the sky to the SW. The smoke from the previous days burning at the Navy base had subsided and the skies were very clear. SQM reading of 20.77"

"The night started with clouds overhead but quickly diminished to just a low line of clouds over the sound and mainland. Average transparency and good seeing. Bright sources of light from the Portofino hotels to the west. Light domes from the hotels and Pensacola Beach over 40 degrees. To the north, a bright line of skyglow. Looking east there are no direct sources of light, but light domes from Nevarre and other communities reachong 25-30 degrees high. The gradient of light from north to south is very conspicuous, with light pollution visible almost up to senith, then falling off sharply towards the gulf. Pretty dark over the gulf, but this window of darkness is just a small wedge between scattered light."