>>11243528If you want decent visibility you need to be at least 45-50 miles from any settlements, towns, etc. If you can, find somewhere that's 100 miles or more from any large light sources. If you REALLY want to see the stars you need to head somewhere that's very empty like Montana, the Dakotas, Wyoming, Northern Canada, Australian Outback, etc. I live in Michigan, and have a dedicated night sky park a few hours from me, which is okay but nowhere near the best night sky iv'e seen. I have buddy in Guam right now and he sent me some absolutely stunning photos of the night sky there.
If you can find somewhere near a large body of water that isn't light polluted that helps a lot because water is fucking dark. Forest clearings are another good option.
I do most of my star gazing when camping, i'm an outdoors guy so I spend a lot of time on my own in the dark.
Also, it can actually help to start star gazing in an area where you can only see the 10-20 brightest stars because those stars will all be relatively important ones to know. You can learn their positions and appearance and then find them in a more crowded sky later on.
>>11243585Tbf, guys like Galilieo and Newton built their own telescopes as a matter of course, using 16th and 17th century tech, so it's not that hard if you know how. Like that anon said the mirrors are going to be the hardest thing to get.
Also, I highly doubt that a home built Newtonian telescope will ever be able to see more than even a cheap professionally built dobsinian or hybrid scope. Manufactured telescopes for hobbyists are a lot better now than they were even 20 years ago. Really, telescope quality is only limited by how much you're willing to shell out.
