Charleston area stargazers can find clearer views of winter skies by escaping the city’s light pollution, according to astronomy experts across South Carolina.

Winter offers particularly good conditions for stargazing because cold air holds less moisture, providing clearer views of the night sky, said Oz Paszkiewicz, planetarium instructor at the Spartanburg County Public Library planetarium.

“It’s unfortunate that we can’t see as much as ancient stargazers, but we don’t need fancy telescopes to see the important parts,” Paszkiewicz wrote in an email.

Even downtown areas show major constellations and meteor showers to the naked eye, but serious viewing requires getting 20 to 30 miles away from city limits, said Maggie Connelly, planetarium specialist at Greenville’s Roper Mountain Science Center.

Charleston area residents can turn to Lowcountry Stargazers, a group that promotes astronomy and hosts viewing events in the tri-county area, for local dark-sky locations. The group serves as a resource for finding spots with minimal light pollution.

Websites like Dark Site Finder help locate areas with low light pollution levels. Other options include rural areas, swampy wildlife preserves or coastal beaches away from development.

For those willing to travel farther, the best regional stargazing lies in Western North Carolina’s mountains. Recommended destinations include Mayland Earth to Sky Park in Burnsville, N.C., the Blue Ridge Parkway, Pisgah Astronomical Research Institute and Cataloochee Ranch.

South Carolina has no officially designated Dark Sky Places, according to DarkSky International, but several exist across the North Carolina border.

Timing matters for optimal viewing. Full moons can outshine other sky features, Paszkiewicz noted. Specific events like meteor showers or eclipses require advance planning using astronomy organization calendars, such as those from The Planetary Society.

Beginners don’t need expensive telescopes, Connelly said. Eyes alone suffice for starting out, though smartphone apps designed for sky identification can help newcomers learn what they’re seeing.

Local astronomy clubs offer expertise and equipment sharing for new stargazers, Connelly recommended.

Proper preparation includes limiting light exposure. Eyes need 20 to 30 minutes to adjust to darkness, and each phone glance resets the process, Paszkiewicz said. Red light - from red bulbs, transparent red plastic over regular bulbs, or phone apps - preserves night vision when light becomes necessary.

Warm, comfortable clothing and snacks or hot beverages make winter viewing more pleasant, Connelly suggested.

“As children, one of the first opportunities of wonder and wow and inquiry was looking up at the sky, right, and wondering what was out there,” she said. “And so as an adult, it can help you bring that wonder, that childlike wonder, back into your life.”