Bortle Scale - How to find the stars in the night sky!!
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- čas přidán 15. 07. 2020
- Today I show you the different levels in the Bortle Scale. This is a classification of the light pollution in the night sky, from the glowing cities to the dark sky areas that are perfect for astrophotography. If you can't see any stars in your sky, you will have to travel to a darker area where light pollution isn't bleaching out the stars so you can see a magnificent star filled sky!!
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I like the advice of choosing direction wisely for night and astro photos. I often forget that even in higher numbers of Bortle skies good shots are still possible.
Thanks very much Adrian! Most definitely, even if there is a bortle 4-5 location nearby, it can still give you some good results if the air quality is clear enough!
Thanks for watching 😁👍
Great info, Mike... The darker, the better. I have been watching a program that takes place in the Outback of Australia. Every episode has one or two absolutely stunning night sky time lapses somewhere throughout the episode. Really makes me want to get out and shoot. Take care, brother.
Indeed!! I always look forward to a trip to a dark location! I bet in the middle of australia they have some amazing night skies!!!
All good here dude! I hope all is good with you and the family! 😁👍
Thank you. Learned something today.
That's great to hear. 😁👍
Great video Mike!
*Cries in south east Germany and Bortel 3+ everywhere*
Lucky, I'm in Los Angeles bortle 7-8
3 would be OK...7-8 on the other hand is a little bit high...maybe a trip into the mountains. 🤔
I’m also in a bottle 8 area, but I have very sharp eyes to see things like M44 and Orion Nebula, even something like the S shape in Orion.
Ayyyy from New Jersey... With new york, philadelphia and atlantic city within pissing distance in the holy trifecta of night sky fuckery, where a bortle 4-5 is my dark sky site...
I’m in Hawaii 😭😭
Thanks for the info
As a youth I lived on a farm 65 miles North of Dallas. No other houses were visible in the day or night from our farm house. The Milky Way was always clearly visible. I think we were in a Bortle 1 area.
Now I live in a small town in Southern Kansas. It is shown as a Bortle 5 in maps. I have a lot of local light pollution and with my cataracts, I can see Vega, Betelgeuse, Alkaid and the moon on a clear night. Hard to star hop without stars, so I bought a go to telescope mount.
Great video and timely for the comet. My location is about a level 4 but level 3's are all around me. Outside of that I can't even any level 2's most anywhere in Japan. I spent a lot of time out at sea when I was younger. I miss seeing nothing but stars. I hope everything went smoothly with your move. Stay safe.
i live in a bortle 5 in the suburbs of jacksonville florida... every now and then i'll take the 2 hour drive to south central georgia near stephen c foster and pull off the side of the road into a bortle 2. so cool
Very cool!! It's always good having a bortle 2 or better within a few hours ... I think we have 2 places about the same sort of distance from us!
Thanks for watching 😁👍
Good information about bortle scale. Nice video.
Thanks my friend! I hope you are staying safe! 😁👍
Happy to live in Finland where theres still places with bortle class 1 🙏
I bet it's pretty fantastic up in Finland when the skies are clear!
Thanks for watching 😁👍
Mäki oon suomalainen. Asun bortle 8 :/ mut silti näkyy ehk 100 jotain tähtee
A1 Mike ,handy to know 💫
Thanks so much Neil! 😁👍
A lot depends on the geography of the area.i live in a village but because of industry it's Bortle 6 but there's the sea on one side and you can just make out the milky way.
Most definitely. I've got some photos of the milky way in a similar situation...a bottle 5 location looking out to sea where there was no light pollution at all.
Thanks for watching 😁👍
thanks for the video Mike, I realised that Austria has an ample area with a low Bortle score, so I may try this summer as I am planning to pass through it , although I have only got with me aps-c cameras with not particularly fast lenses.....
Most definitely! We love Austria, such a fantastic country and you're right, lots of dark locations! It might be worth picking up a samyang 12mm f2...it's relatively cheap and at f2, you should be able to get some great shots. 👍
I love that you have been doing a lot on astrophotography, especially since I have a A7III..... How about one on taking an image of Orion Nebula with just your Sony? Or vortex star trails?
That's great to hear!
I'll see what I can do...thanks for the suggestions. 😁👍
Yes, Please do this!
Saw a 1 or 2 in Barstow, CA. But that was like 30 plus years ago. Now even in Death Valley or Oasis, you barely might see a 4 or 5. And that's with my butt naked eyes, no low light trick cameras. Hate camera and photo shots. Because when you go to those places at the right time you see nothing like in those photos.
The low numbered areas are out there but you have to go deeper and deeper into the wilderness these days...I remember as kids looking out of our window and seeing the milkyway, but now in the same location it's hard to see that many stars.
Thanks for watching. 😁👍
Brilliant
Thanks Chetan! 😁👍
Thanks
weird, a map says that the bortle rating here is 8-9. But I can see plenty of constellations and even the Orion nebula and the beehive cluster using some cheap binoculars
Same here. Maybe the light pollution map is outdated or its just estimated
Sometimes its not right light pollution can say that you are in a bortle 9 but if you go a place without much lights like some kilometers it will be like a 6 or 4 even tho it say its a 9
i know this is late but thanks for the very useful info :)
Thanks so much Salmam! 😁👍
Live in Southern New Mexico in Bortle 6, but am 5 minutes from 4 and 30 minutes from Bortle 2 next to one on White Sands Missile Range to the East. I'm not more than 90 minutes from 9700 feet and Bortle one, but my Bortle 2 spot is pretty nice most of the time.
Thanks for the awesome vids, what do you use for your audio? Love the way it sounds.
Thanks Ben! I have the Rode NTG3 mic and then that goes through a preamp (Juiced link - Riggy assist), then into the A7iii. Then I just tweak it a little in Audition. 👍
currently live in Bortle 6.5-7 area, theres a Bortle 4.5 area just 30 minutes drive north of me. really hoping to hop over there in mid-late June when the Milky Way begins to rise into the sky! and in mid august my family is going to Assateague Seashore which is Bortle 3. I cannot wait, I hope the next few months fly by :)
thanks for the great video!
Sounds like you have a good plan! It's always good to know where the darker areas are near to where you live. 😁👍
@@mikesphotography yea, light pollution maps are an awesome tool. im gonna try to drag my mom out with me on may 1st :) milky way isn't visible but honestly i just wanna see a sky full of stars.
Im not surprised, Im seeing mily way, stars already all night long, bortle class is 1, I always go on the windows just to see those stars, but not surprised
...and now all astrophotographers will be envious of your location!! 😆
@@mikesphotography yeah, Im sad my parents said we're going in a different country after the pandemic, I still don't know what country it is but i hope its the same here in my country
Hey man! Great video! I recently went to liwa to take some shots and it was great but I still wanted to understand what bortle level I was. Please let me know if you're planning to go for some shots again this season. Thanks! 🙏🏼
Thanks very much Junaid!
Unfortunately I no longer live in Dubai. We moved to Bangkok last year so new live in Thailand.
Thanks for watching 😁👍
I live in bortle 6-5 location, And last week i went on a party with my friend to another village thats like 12 Miles Away. And IT Have bortle 4-3 And there i saw milkyway for the first time IT was a very clear Sky. And IT was like midnight or 1am, I was very shocked when i saw the milkyway for the first time. IT was good time.
It's great when you see it properly!! I always end up spending most of the night looking up in awe!!
Thanks for watching 😁👍
Hi, you're probably the best instructor in youtube for astrophotography. Thanks for the awesome video. I just have one question. Yesterday, I have tried to capture the Milkyway, using the astrophotography mode on my pixel 3A XL in a Bortle 5 zone. It took 2 min 12 sec to capture the shot and as you have mentioned in this video, I got a faded image of the Milkyway. Now, actually, I am quite confused, as clearly mobile camera can be compared as a crop sensor and according to the 500 rule for the full-frame camera, I have tried [500/5 (crop factor)]/10 (assuming my mobile lens is equivalent to 10mm) = 10 sec of shutter speed. So, I did expect some star trail in the 2:12 sec astrophotography image. But, surprisingly, the image has come out with pinpoint stars [along with Jupiter and saturn]. Can you please explain why did this happen?
Where did you take the picture with the tree in it at?
I’m from the UAE didn’t expect that you lived here
Haha! I used to live there but now I am in Bangkok! 😁👍
Great vid, Mike, as per usual. Why, or why do I live in Bortle 9?!?!?
Thanks Bazza! Me too!!! Would be so much better living in a bortle 2 location or lower...it's the long drives back in the morning that get me...a redbull laced, dozey drive back home every morning after we go out!! 😆
Thanks for watching 👍
I don't care about photography or documenting the sky, just the experience of seeing it with the naked eye. I once spent a week out under the sky in very low light pollution, camped in woods far from civilisation, and it was ethereal almost, light streaming through the trees, the shine of the moon unimpeded, able to see the galaxy. I could definitely see how nature would inspire cults in prehistory.
Without being spiritual about it like some wacko, we've definitely lost a dear companion. For over two MILLION years, our ancestors grew up with the nighy sky, were guided by it, used it for inspiration and navigation. The stars stood as witness to the birth and rise of mankind, and now the majority of the world's population has never seen an unimpeded night sky in person. If that isn't sad, I don't know what sadness is.
Where I live, even on the clearest nights I can barely see 10 or so stars. Maybe my vision isn't good, but even people with good vision take a few seconds here to "find" stars with their eyes. There's something wrong with that, when stars should kinda be obvious in the sky.
Sadly I'll never be able to live somewhere with a good view of the stars, because I'm too reliant on civilisation due to disability. Wish we could have like, one national "turn all lights off" night per year where everyone stops and looks up, but that's a fantasy, impossible in practice.
I know what you mean, I live in a big city at the moment and it is so annoying not being able to look up and see the night sky in all it's glory...and with covid making travel really hard, I can't get to any good locations at the moment either.
That would be a fantastic solution, where we have a few nights of the year where all external lights are turned off so everyone can experience it...
Thanks for watching 😁👍
is this what you see with naked eye or only with camera? if no could you make a video with the bortle scale what you see with naked eye ?
I would do almost anything to be able to see the stars again. I honestly cannot remember the last time i seen them. I wonder if there is a correlation with rising depression and the loss of our night sky
I know how you feel Anthony, I live in Bangkok at the moment and am really missing the night sky!
I'm looking forward to being able to travel again to see all those stars once again.
I hope you get a chance to see the stars soon. 👍
I am crying literally like i want see the milky way 🌌 but i cant for light pollution...😖😖😭😭😭
It is annoying isn't it! I wish cities would turn off all of their lights after midnight for a few hours...it would be amazing to see the milkyway over a big city in real life!
Thanks for watching 👍
quick question, if im in a bortle 4 location, and on a shoreline looking towards the sea, will i be able to see the milky way clearly with the naked eye?
Good question! It'll look like a faint cloud in the distance, or a lighter streak across the sky. When you get a long exposure photograph of it, as long as there isn't too much dust or dirt in the air, it should become a lot more clear. 👍
I live in bortle 8 and still see like 100 stars
I love how u used pics of dubai for the bortle class 9, so that I know that I should be hopeless in tryna take pics of the milky way with my d3100 (I live in dubai btw)
Haha!! I have got some photos of about 10 stars above dubai...but that was over the whole of the sky!!
It's much better out behind Al Qudra and then if you venture down in the empty quarter, and find some roads without streetlamps, that's when it gets really good! 😁👍
@@mikesphotography thanks for the info, I'm new here so some info is always helpful
No worries, glad to be able to help. 😁👍
I’m still grateful for 5 or 4
Most definitely! I'm living in a 9 at the moment and I wish I had access to a 4 or 5 area...
Thanks for watching 😁👍
You are so lucky to be able to see something like the Milky Way. I am also in a VERY light polluted area.
we live in the same city!! yeeeiihh !!! SOny A6400 user here. 😅👌
Excellent!! The sony A6400 is a great little camera isn't it...it lessens the chance of security guards moving us on!! 😆👍
@@mikesphotography 😂😁yes exactly!!
very good information. luckily , i have class 2 bortle 15km away only. and class 1 is 60 km away. will go on new moon.
Sounds like you're at a fantastic location... I have to say, I'm a little envious right now as I haven't had my astro fix for a while!! 😆
Where I live now, (just moved) we have to fly to get to a good location... 🤦🏻♂️
2yrs late:(
But I will always recommend StarGazing in no moon(new moon)
As moon also emit light which causes pollution obv
And I doubt u wanna see the moon as u can even see it from the city
U can see much more in moonless nights like M31 (Andromeda galaxy)
Hi what result can I expect when I am on the beach and point my camera in the direction of the sea where there is little to no light pollution while I am in a bortle 6-7?
It depends on a lot of different variables...like air quality, any kind of cloud cover above you or the city, direction of lights from the beach.
The best bet is to give it a go one clear evening. Try and find the darkest place on the beach and then take some shots playing around with the settings until you get a useable image.
thanks for watching. 👍
I am so lucky that I got the milky way from bortle 8 without a filter and a tracker.
Good to hear! 😁👍
Can I see the milky way galaxy in a bortle class 5 area or not?
If the core is in your sky, you'll just about be able to see it, but it will be very faint.
Not for me, but very interesting Mr. Mike.
Thanks Luis. 😁👍
Hey bro thanks for the info i live in India, a large city where i barely see 4-5 stars I've never seen milky way
But i can travel now but i don't want to take a time lapse with camera i don't want to astro photography so with bortle 2 sky can I see half of image that you showed for bortle 2 sky with my naked eyes with out any camera exposure will i really able to see milky way with quite some details ?
Obviously with a camera soaking up light over a 15-30 second period, it will give you a clear image than you would be able to see with your naked eye, live.
However, if you have never experienced a bortle 2 location, it is well worth seeing even if you never take a single photo.
I have travelled all over the world and the biggest thing I keep coming back to is a clear night in a dark sky location, whether it is over the Desert in southern Morocco, in the empty quarter in the middle east, or over the Corromadel Penisnsula in NZ, when you have so little light pollution it is amazing to see.
The other thing to take into account is the air pollution levels as well. If the air is thick and dusty, this will reduce the experience as well. I've had some trips to exactly the same location, when the air quality is good, the sky is amazing, but when there is a lot of dust in the air, with high humidity, this is when you lose a lot of that detail.
I hope that helps
Thanks for watching 😁👍
@@mikesphotography thank you very much
😄
also, wondering if light pollution is less at midnight ( most shops closed, few vehicles, etc..)
Not really enough of a drop to be noticeable. Streetlights really pollute the skies as well as big industry which usually operates 24/7.
Can I photograph the milky way from my house's terrace. The sky is point black, somewhere around Bortle 4-5. But, there are some street lights lighting up the neigbours building walls, which will also come in my photo.
You can try, and with a 4-5 rating, you'll get quite a few stars, but if the wall creeps into your frame, that will overexpose quite quickly.
Thanks for watching 😁👍
@@mikesphotography I thought so. Thank you very much!
Hi Mike, do you still live in Dubai? I'm Swedish, live in Dubai since 2018 and just got into astronomy. Bought a Skywatcher 72ED with a manual alt-azimuth setup, thinking about upgrading to a Go-To. Joined Dubai Astronomy Group and went with them to Jebel Jais recently. Will likely do the Leonids shower with them at Al Qudra next weekend. Please give me a shout if you'd like to meet up to chat about all things star gazing-related and of course other topics as well as we are both expats in Dubai.
Hey, I hope you are enjoying Dubai. Unfortunately we don't live there anymore ... definitely miss those clear skies and milkyway core nights!
I'm back in the uk ... for now ... where the core hardly breaches the horizon mid summer.
Have you come across Arun and Rich? they are the guys I used to go shooting with and I think they are members of the Astronomy Club.
😁👍
Ah, that's a shame! Haven't come across them yet. I just joined the group and hope to get to some get-togethers and learn more. There's a young astrophysicist guy there who's very enthusiastic. I lived in Brighton for 14 years and yes, skies are definitely clearer here in Dubai 🙂
Go Jaguars!!!
Why could I olny capture a faint image of the Milky Way on a iPhone 13 and 10 second exposure time in a. Borte 4 sky
You need a longer exposure time... with a wide angle lens, I normally shoot for about 20-30 seconds, aperture at 1.8-2.8 with an iso at about 2000.
the bortle map shares old data.. any live app?
I'm not sure, I tend just to use this one.
what do u mean by " if Milkyway is out? I mean isn't it already there? "
Good question. There is a milky way season where the core is in the sky in the night. When out of season, the core is in the sky in the day so not visible.
It tends to be best between april and September. 👍
Can you see the Milky Way with the naked eye?! I thought you can't.
If you get to a bortle 3 location or lower you can. At a bortle 1 location you can see some of the details in the galactic core as well. At bortle 4-5 it just looks like a faint cloud streaking across the sky.
Nice. i want to have low light polution But class 8 is better than nothing
Exactly...sometimes you have to work with what you've got. 😁👍
I live bortle class 4
SOunds ike you should be able to get some great shots of the milkyway!
Thanks for watching 😁👍
It’s sad that the beautiful sky is there but we can’t even see it unless you’re in a bortle scale that’s low.
I know...it would be great if cities would turn all the lights off after midnight so we could all experience it...
@@mikesphotography exactly. At least for one day. I feel so connected to the stars
I dont think I've ever even seen a level 4.
I live in a bortle 6 😔.
It's annoying isn't it ... I live in a big city at the moment so I feel your pain ... 😫🤦🏻♂️
Well it isn't great but it seems okay 😐.
Mike: It quantifies the astronomical {lots more long words]....
Me: ??????😕
Mike: So basically...
Me: Phew! 😅
Another good video Mike, glad to also know I live in a 4 on the edge of a 2, just need to get rid of these clouds.
Haha!! It was a mouthful to say all of that...next time I get a sentence , I'll tag on the outtakes at the end! 😆
Sounds like you're in a great place...apart from those clouds.
Thanks for watching Dave. 👍
@@mikesphotography South West Ireland, have dark sky area nearby.
Thanks for constantly posting, I don't comment often but been sub for years. 👍
And remember people, the Bortle scale is exponential, i.e. there is way, way more light at Bortle 9 than the scale initially suggests, if you were initially unaware that it was exponential. Greets from Bortle 7 in Merseyside, NW England
Most definitely! I did a test to see recently to see what the difference was between a bortle 9 and a bortle 2, and there was over 10 stops of light more in the city, which is the difference between a 1 second exposure in the city compared to a 16m exposure in a dark location to get the same amount of light into the camera.
Thanks for watching 😁👍
in Africa they see this Every Night
Definitely! I saw some amazing skies in Morocco! 😁👍
Imagine this: living in the Netherlands, near Rotterdam. Yep, not nice at all...
Yep, it sucks...but planning a trip is fun and gives you something to look forward to...it's a bit like living in Bangkok with no car...so I feel your pain. 👊
I live in a level 5-4 light pollution level and barley see a few stars
If there are higher levels around you, that will have an effect on what you see.
First
Good job! 😁👍
Me in Dubai 😢
😢 with bortle 6-7 ;-;
I know your pain...I live in a big city at the moment and we have limited travel at the moment so no going to those dark sky locations for the time being...😫
I really wish I could go to an area where I can see stars without having to use binoculars or a telescope. :(
It's always worth planning a trip to one of those locations. It is amazing to see! 👍
I actually might be going somewhere where the Milky Way is visible soon, it is Joshua Tree national park.
Oh wow, I hear it is meant to be really good there when the skies are clear! 😁👍
@@mikesphotography Oh cool, thanks 😀
Did you know, the galaxy can cast a shadow on you?
Just me or everybody!? 🤔
@@mikesphotography on everyone, its kinda cool. i was on a trip to the bahamas on a boat and i could see the galaxy cleanly and i noticed that the bright part was making a small shadow behind me and it even dimly illuminated my boat so even though all the lights were off i could still see somewhat
if you Fly in a Small plane
or Helicopter above the Cities
you Will See it
Yep, getting away from the light doesn't have to be horizontal, you can move away vertically as well. 👍
I’ve never seen the night sky under class 6
It is well worth travelling to a better location... I will never forget looking up at a bortle 1 sky... an amazing experience!!
Thanks for watching 😁👍
I live in London and I can’t see a single star
I hear they all hang out on red carpets in London ... 🤔😆🙈
From London, you'd probably have to jump on a train to Birmingham and then change trains to mid wales ... there, you'd see a lot more.
Thanks for watching 😁👍
Sadly im probably 7-6 😢
Ah man, it sucks when there is a lot of light pollution. I live in Bangkok for two years, and it was off the scale there!! 😆🙈
Thanks for watching 😁👍
I hate living in bortle 7
I know what you mean, I've been living in Bangkok for two years and it's a nightmare. 😫🤦🏻♂️
Europe is a nightmare for astrophotography
In some places....but if you look hard enough, there are a few locations where you can get some good shots.
Thanks for watching. 👍