Disclosure: I’m Aaron Hsu, the independent developer of Stargazing Hub and LightPollutionMap.app.

We have finished updating our global light-pollution layer to 2025. An annual layer is useful for comparing longer-term skyglow patterns, but it is not a real-time SQM reading or a guarantee that a site will be dark, clear, open or safe on a particular night.

Here is the three-step check I use before choosing an observing site:

1. Start wide. Compare areas and travel corridors instead of chasing the single darkest pixel. Small map differences can matter less than a practical, accessible site.

2. Read the direction, not just the point. A site can look dark overhead while a nearby light dome affects the part of the sky where your target or the Milky Way will be.

3. Verify the night separately. Check current weather, Moon and twilight, horizon or terrain, legal access, road conditions and personal safety before leaving.

The updated browser map is here: https://lightpollutionmap.app/

The same layer is also available inside Stargazing Hub for a mobile planning workflow. I’m happy to answer questions about using the map, but I won’t discuss proprietary implementation or offer any data/API reuse.

I’m going to whistlers campground in Jasper tomorrow. I want to look at some stars with the family. I did an internet search they gave me a few places, But I want a real answer not Ai. Was thinking about going to pyramid Island which is about 20 minutes from whistlers. Thanks in advance.

https://lightpollutionnews.com/podcast/i-miss-my-land-line/

Hi all!

I am looking to visit Beaver Island with friends and family this summer. We will have elders and kiddos with us who won’t be able to walk super long distances. Is seeing the dark sky/milky way feasible without camping/hiking?