Country diary: The infinite depths of an unpolluted sky | Lev Parikian

Ventnor, Isle of Wight: It's the perfect night for a stargaze, or, at the least, a wave at the International Space StationThe suburban country diarist, away from suburbia, must seize every opportunity. Here on the south?west coast of the Isle of Wight, the birds are different (skylarks, lapwings, black-tailed godwit); the butterflies are different (marbled white, wall, white admiral). But the night sky is, frankly, unrecognisable.London's familiar dirty orange glow is replaced by a clarity of light and a depth of dark that is unimaginable for a city dweller. There are fewer and fewer places free of the creeping spectre of light pollution - and we are staying in one of them. Continue reading...