Stargazing On The Eastern Shore On A Crisp Night
image from LightPollutionMap.info
Best Practices for Star Gazing in Ocean City and Beyond
Weather
Make sure your night will be as cloudless as possible. The clearer the night, the better your experience. Use your favorite weather site to find out when to schedule your gaze. NOAA.gov is a weather site used by many. The colder weather months are best since summer temps and humidity can cause a haze to form.
Little To No Light Pollution
Night skies below Ocean City boast some of the best places to view the stars, because of the lack of light pollution. Assateague Island and the parallel coast line are amazing star gazing spots. Assateague Island has camping sites, so if yo want to stay all night, you can. Pocomoke State Forest offers camping as well. Many parks you need to leave by dusk, but parks that have camping are great for amateur astronomers. See map. See LightPollutionMap for your area or another area you would like to visit.
Get To Higher Elevation
If traveling outside of Ocean City is not an option, get to the highest spot you can. The higher the spot, the less light will impede your view. For those just starting their gazing hobby, you don’t need a telescope just yet. Get some binoculars and an app to help you out. A free app that is very popular is SkyView Lite.
What is in The Sky Tonight?
A little research ahead of time to find out what you will see or what to look for will only enhance your experience. Beckstrom Observatory has a great page to find this out.
Little To No Moon
The moon light actually is not a help on a star gazing night. So make sure the moon is in a crescent or less than full stage. 