My Observing Locations
There's No Place Like Home
As the saying goes, the three most important things about buying a house are location, location, location. The same can be said for observing sites. We would all love to have magnitude seven skies in our backyard, but some of us have to make do with what we got—especially those of us living east of the Mississippi river. Below is a list of the places that I have observed from, some great and some not so great.
| Name | Bortle Class | Sessions | Observations | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Columbine Drive, Dunlap, IL | Bright suburban sky | 37 | 324 | 72.5 |
| Franklin Street, Paducah, KY | Bright suburban sky | 49 | 650 | 129.25 |
| Golden Pond Observatory, KY | Rural/suburban transition | 21 | 400 | 95.5 |
| Green River State Wildlife Area | Rural/suburban transition | --- | --- | --- |
| Heavens Gate Farm, IL | Rural/suburban transition | 7 | 145 | 25.5 |
| JEPC State Fish & Wildlife Park, IL | Rural/suburban transition | 4 | 155 | 26.5 |
| McDonald Observatory, TX | Excellent dark-sky site | 2 | 46 | 11 |
| Pennyrile State Park, KY | Rural/suburban transition | 19 | 432 | 98 |
| Prairie Grass Observatory, IN | Suburban sky | 5 | 110 | 21.5 |
| Rainwater Observatory, MS | Typical truly dark site | 6 | 139 | 23 |
| Rest Area, Camp Grove, IL | Rural/suburban transition | 4 | 63 | 10.5 |
| Seven Oaks, Peoria, IL | City sky | 1 | 1 | 1 |
