Urania Observatory

The Urania Observatory (website in German) in Zürich was completed in 1907. It's about 50 m tall and rather a distinctive structure in the Zürich skyline. They offer star-gazing tours and I must try to make it to one of them soon. I wonder how much the light pollution affects the visibility.

Speaking of light pollution, I recently heard a discussion on NPR about that very topic and it was fascinating. Here are some links:

The Diane Rehm Show: Environmental Outlook: Combating Light Pollution
International Dark Sky Association: http://darksky.org/

Did you know the old nursery rhyme "Hey Diddle Diddle" could very well be about constellations visible in the April night sky? Do you go star-gazing? How is it in your part of the world?