A new study analyzed NASA VIIRS data to come up with the top countries for stargazers.
Europe is in truth a travel gem , so it ’s no wonder that it actuallyshines brighterthan most destination . Puns aside ( please , forgive me ) , it ’s actually dead on target .
grant to the nonprofit InternationalDark - SkyAssociation , Europe is , in fact , the most scant - polluted continent in the worldly concern , which is n’t great for all space fancier andstargazersout there . To give you a bit more setting , according to another study by the Ministry of the Environment of the Czech Republic , more than 99 % of Europeans live under an lit sky at night ( compared to over 80 % of people in the residue of the world ) .
But not all hopes are lost , and both Europe - based and Europe - tie up stargazers can suspire in fill-in . Cruise Croatiajust canvass NASA VIIRS datum for European countries , and it calculated the mediocre light sources per country ’s square klick . What did the squad find with that , you require ? They found how light - contaminate each land ’s sky is , on average , and then they proceeded to rank them to come up with thetop 15 least light - polluted country in Europe .
Night sky in Latvia|Ilya Dubovsky/500px/Getty Images
If you ’re guessing that northern European body politic probably take the cake , you ’re correct . Latvia sits at the downright top with only 1.08 light sources per straightforward kilometer . Cruise Croatia also discover the dear place in Latvia to dream , where the light contamination is at its absolute lowest in the country . That fall out to be the Gaiziņkalns mountain ambit , which is the high point in the rural area .
secondly on the list wasNorway , which flaunt 1.29 light sources per square kilometer . If you ’re planning to head there soon to stargaze , Cruise Croatia suggests you head over to Varanger ( which is one of the most northerly areas in the country ) to heave at a wonderful hatful of the Milky Way , which pass just above and is clearly visible on a absolved nighttime .
In third place wasLithuaniaand its 1.31 sparkle sources per hearty kilometer . For the best stargazing experience there , you should head over to the Molėtai Astronomical Observatory to see the biggest scientific telescope in Northern Europe .
Take a look at the top 15 least lite - polluted destinations in Europe below :
1 . Latvia2 . Norway3 . Lithuania4 . Sweden5 . Finland6 . Estonia7 . Bulgaria8 . Romania9 . Ireland10 . Austria11 . Denmark12 . Slovakia13 . Hungary14 . Slovenia15 . Croatia
For more information and to register the all over study , you’re able to visitthis website .
Ready to go stargazing?
Here are allthe best stargazing eventsthat you’re able to get out and see this calendar month or you could outride in andstream the northerly lightsfrom home . If you ’re just getting started , check out ourguide to astronomy for beginnersoreasy stargazing road trips from gravid US cities .
