Without Light Pollution

So, it is now that much closer to finals week.  Technically, it is less than a week from when finals begin.  That's a little stressful to think about, so as my break from homework, I decided to relax and take a drive.  Now, this is not that uncommon for me, but what I did notice was pretty extraordinary.

I'm from Southern California, which is all city.  In terms of light pollution and astronomy, we are one of the worst areas to view stars just because of the difficulty to see them.  I've been camping in the woods before, and the difference between the sky in the city versus the sky in a rural area.  I guess tonight I had forgotten about all of that until I drove about a mile out of Jacksonville and opened my sunroof.  I could see hundreds of stars, even though it's a little cloudy.  In comparison, as I was looking outside of Parker, I could see maybe five.  It was blissful and relaxing to see the sky so brilliant.  Just like I had mentioned in my last post, it made me and my stresses seem small in comparison.  I know it does not seem like much in the pictures, but it's honestly incredible and I recommend that everyone should see it.  It's really good for people to take a step back and notice what's going on around them, and tonight I was reminded of that.

Taken by iPhone 6 plus camera with flash about 1 mi outside of Jacksonville, IL 12/11/15
This is the telephone wire that I conveniently stopped under when I was trying to take a picture of the sky. 

Taken by iPhone 6 plus camera without flash about 1 mi outside of Jacksonville, IL 12/11/15
Although my camera was not able to capture the image, there were what appeared to be hundreds of stars right above me.