The Beauty of the Night Sky

So this is North South Lake at midnight, with the Milky Way in the western sky.  The  3 1/2 hour drive was worth it.  I don't remember the last time I was under such a dark sky here in the east.  Skies like this, so dark that the stars twinkle like they are illuminated diamonds, are so rare, and certainly never on Long Island.  Light pollution is ruining our skies everywhere, the glow of lights on the ground reflecting up into the sky, obscuring the stars.  I went to North South lake to observe the heavens with my telescopes, and to take a few pictures, but the sky was so amazing that sometimes during the evening, I would just stand in the middle of the observing field and look up in wonder.