Even from the middle of Salt Lake City (lots of light pollution), there are still quite a few objects we would be able to see. Generally more objects are visible in darker locations, but from light polluted skies, stars, star clusters, planets, and of course the moon are still visible. In areas with slightly less light pollution, some bright nebulas and galaxies start to become visible.

Simply put, light pollution is excess/wasted light shining upwards into the sky. Light pollution makes our sky bright which in turn makes it much harder for people to experience the night sky. The sollution to light pollution can be as simple as turning off a light when not needed, changing a light bulb to a lower kelvin bulb (more orange), or adding a “cap” to a light so all the light is being directed downwards instead of “leaking” up to the sky. For more information on light pollution and its negative impact, check out Dark Sky Internationals resource [What is light pollution?].

Weather can be tricky when it comes to astronomy. Some bright objects (the Sun, the Moon, and some planets) can still be seen through thinner clouds, but thick clouds can completely halt astronomical viewing until they clear. If clouds are the only issue, we can point the telescope at objects on Earth, like mountains, until the clouds subside. Adverse weather such as rain, snow, severe wind, and lightning strictly prohibit use of the telescope.

There are plenty of amazing objects in our night sky visible through our telescope. Some of these includes, galaxies, planets, the Moon, the Sun, nebulas, and more. For a visual representation of what may be seen please head to our photos page [What Could You See?].