07-30-2015, 08:28 PM
cbelt3 wrote: to even have a hope of seeing the Milky Way, much less some of the dimmer constellations.
I live in the hinterlands, too, and I cannot see the Milky Way. Light pollution is everywhere. Even in the country it is rarely dark enough, especially in the winter with star light reflecting off the snow. In the summer there is to much shimmering in the atmosphere.
The best view I ever had of the Milky Way was in South Dakota in the middle of a very crisp winter night with no snow on the ground at an unlighted exit (Exit 110 on I-90) while kicking the tires on my rig. I had never seen such an unobstructed view of the galaxy before and I have looked many, many times! I live far enough north that even the northern lights often preclude a good view.