Mrs SLVA and I went camping yesterday
Just the one night to see what it was like as we've never done it before. Hoping the weather would hold off, we got to York and it pissed it down. By Leeming Bar on the A1 it'd stopped and was trying to brighten up. Finally, we arrived at the campsite, pitched the tent, had food, got ready and went to the pub at the top of the hill.
By about 10pm, we headed back and I noticed that the sky was clearing and stars were showing. I've never been anywhere without light pollution of sorts and was astounded at how many stars I could see.

By 11pm, we could make out the band of the Milky Way arcing across the sky. I dug the binoculars out and pointed them at an apparently empty patch of sky. It wasn't empty at all.

After a couple of minutes we lay hanging out of the tent looking up at the stars, with the babbling sound from the River Swale not 15 feet behind us and with the aid of Google Sky Map (on an Android phone because iPhones are a big bag of foetid bag-lady's period) we are identifying various stars when we see not one, not two but four shooting-stars in a chain streak across the sky.
( sandettie light vessel automatic New Twitter - @bollocksreally, Fri 6 Aug 2010, 1:26, 6 replies)

Excellent
People just dont appreciate the beauty of the night sky enough.
Around the 12th Aug is the time to look up at the night sky to see the marvel that is the Perseids.
Shooting stars galore.
Grab a picnic, some booze and a blanket , get away from light pollution.
Lie down and be prepared to go oooh and ahhh did you see that?
(insomniac-surfer oh go on then, just this once, Fri 6 Aug 2010, 1:49, closed)

I am currently on an oil tanker
On a semi-regular run between the Persian gulf and the far east. When you get out of sight of land in the Indian Ocean, and all the lights are off (except the nav lights), the amount of stars you can see is incredible.
More than I have ever seen even in the dark hinterlands of wales ;)
(badgerlikespeed, Fri 6 Aug 2010, 7:41, closed)

I've only twice been in the southern hemisphere
but on my second visit we went to Lady Elliot island, at the southern end of the Great Barrier Reef. It's an 'eco-island', and only has room for a few tens of people at any one time. Apart from the lighthouse, and a few wee lights around the accommodation area, there are no lights. And you're 50 miles from the nearest habitation so the sky's very dark.

The southern sky has a far greater number of bright stars than the north does. It's quite spectacular.

I was quite in awe of it.
( K2k6 has a proper job these days, Fri 6 Aug 2010, 8:22, closed)

My God! It's Full Of Stars
I've always been a skywatcher, but nothing beats a moment in Brazil. We stopped the car to help another motorist; as soon as the lights went off it was like stepping into hyperspace...
(moon monkey is busy making memories worth repressing, Fri 6 Aug 2010, 10:08, closed)

There was no driver in the car.

( flake has nothing against your right leg, Sat 7 Aug 2010, 20:38, closed)

I was on a stag do earlier this year in deepest darkest dorset. we'd hired a big house to crash in and had lots of kigh jinks and jollity, but the best bit for me was seeing the stars. unbelievably clear. got a sore neck from staring. and skymap definitely makes it better.
(Alphabet Soap boshboshboshbosh, Fri 6 Aug 2010, 10:20, closed)