I was blown away by the night sky on my first night in Alaska.

When I was a kid (30+ years ago), I used to lie in the grass in my yard at night and stare at the stars. I grew up in the forested countryside, so there wasn’t much light pollution and I could clearly make out constellations.

I joined the US military and left home for 20 years. When I retired, I moved back into my childhood home to help my aging father.

One of the first things I noticed is that almost all the stars are gone. Light pollution from the nearby cities has gotten so bad, my night sky is just a haze now. I can’t see stars clearly anymore.

I’ve read that light pollution has gotten so bad globally that there isn’t anywhere left on Earth - not even Antarctica - that doesn’t experience light pollution to some degree. I wish I could go up on a shuttle and see the stars from outside our atmosphere. That must be such an amazing view, completely unfiltered. Like living underwater your whole life and then finally seeing clearly when you lift your head out of the water for the first time.

I’ve spent quite a bit of time backpacking in Pennsylvania. One of my favorite places is a reservoir where they lower the water level drastically in the winter months. You can walk out to where it’s normally underwater, lie on your back and have a 360 degree unobstructed view of the night sky. There are so many stars that you can’t pick out constellations. I’ve seen what i assume were satellites, a continous red glare moving incredibly fast and silent. Unfortunately development is encroaching. First a new highway then a casino.

I grew up rural, and moved into a small town.

I went back out to the mountains to visit family after bring away for a few years and I was blown away. For as small as my town is, it still can’t compare to a middle of nowhere sky.

Don’t be silly, plenty of city folk have seen a picture of the full starry night sky.

I remember seeing the actual milky way when I looked up back in the 80’s and 90’s. Now we’re lucky to see the brightest stars and planets at all. My son has never seen it. This is rural W-EUR btw.

It was enough for me to move to a dark sky site. Don’t get me wrong. I enjoy cities and city people. But this was affordable and breathtaking, and I’m a natural hermit anyway.

I had nice views when sailing with the navy, in the middle of the Indian ocean. The entire milky way visible with the naked eye. It got even better using night vision goggles.

The starry sky is part of why I’m excited for my frat’s annual canoe trip in the backwaters of Minnesota, just outside Nimrod (population 69). The dark skies map linked in other comments shows it as a dark blue, and when there are no clouds it is truly a magical sight.

Seeing so many stars at once makes me understand why astronomy and constellations were so interesting to ancient peoples. It also makes me a little sad to know that such wonder is hidden behind the glow of the cities I’ve lived in.

i saw it wile i was underway, on watch where the edges of the earth falls away leaving me sailing through the stars

I work in a very rural area, sometimes you have to slow clients down and tell them to appreciate the natural beauty around them(clouds, mountains, trees, rainbows/sundogs, etc.). I’m going to blame this on phones more than urbanization though

I haven’t seen real stars since I went to the boundary waters in 2012. It’s a surreal experience, and one of the things that led to my radicalization.