Stargazing on a island

[greendra]

Hi,

I would like to ask if anyone have been to ST John's Island & Stargaze before?
How is the Skies like & how dark is that place?
And also,please recommend which part of the island is the best spots!!

Cheer & Thanks!
Greendra

[Gary]

Hi,

I would like to ask if anyone have been to ST John's Island & Stargaze before?
How is the Skies like & how dark is that place?
And also,please recommend which part of the island is the best spots!!

Cheer & Thanks!
Greendra

Hi Greendra. Welcome to the forum!

I have not been to St John island to stargaze before but just sharing some of my thoughts base on logic and some astrophotos taken from islands in Singapore:

(1) Overall, one will be able to reduce *local* light pollution in these islands, which is a plus point compared to brightly lit city areas.

(2) These islands being near to mainland Singapore, will be mostly subjected to the same weather conditions - i.e. low probability for mainland to be super cloudy and these islands super clear.

(3) Do not expect a super huge significant difference in clarity of skies compared to dark skies in rural Johor - e.g. do not expect Milky Way to arc across the sky from horizon to horizon. If you look at the skies towards mainland from these island, you should still the sky "dome" created by light pollution. Looking away from direction of mainland, it can be very dark (good thing).

(4) In situations of bad weather, you may not have a convenient option to come back to the mainland immediately to pursue other non-stargazing activities (e.g. due to infrequent ferry schedules).

If you can manage your expectations after reading the above, then by all means go island stargazing! Exploring new places, doing new things there, making new friends or enjoying the company of existing friends can be fun regardless of the weather condition.

The better spots for stargazing in mainland Singapore are usually the coastal areas like East Coast Park, Labrador Park, Changi Beach or dark open fields near the heartlands. Read the posts in the Events & Observations sessions for more info.

Good luck and clear skies!

[DarthCryder]

u can try the Seringat Island which is linked via a landbridge with St. John. Have recce the place a few months ago in the daytime. That part have almost next to zero streetlight. However a "permit" is required to stay overnight in St. John. The "C-shaped" beach would be an ideal place for sunrise shoot too since it is facing east.

However do at least recce once in the daytime to familiar yourself to the place. On a sidenote, it's almost full booking until Nov(if i rmb correctly) for the bungalow or campsite at St. John(aka the permit). And no booking is allowed in the month of Sep/Oct due to Kusu. pilgrimage. Dec booking schedule is not out yet and is only 2mths b4.

I definitely will try book for 1 in the 1st few days of Dec as it will be +-3 days of the new moon.