"The night sky has inspired our art and literature since early civilisation. Being cut off from that source by light pollution is to be deprived of something essential to our humanity "

Dark skies are increasingly rare: as the human population becomes more and more urbanised, man-made lights obscure our view of the stars and other celestial features.

"About two thirds of human population today live under light polluted skies, not dark enough to see the Milky Way," says Babak Tafreshi, director of , an international organisation that curates and exhibits astrophotographs.

"Most city skies today are virtually empty of stars. Watching the spectacular arch of the Milky Way rising over the horizon sounds like a scene of science fiction to many kids and young people raised in urban areas."  

  Here are 4 of the best places on Earth for a view of the night sky at its most magnificent:

1. the Sahara:

  Stretching for 3,500,000 sq miles (9,000,000 sq km) – equating 10% of the African continent – the Sahara is the world's largest hot desert. This extreme, hot and dry environment and the remoteness from civilisation of the desert's interior make for some of the most spectacular views of the stars on Earth. 

2. Namibia

  Namibia is home to a growing industry in astrotourism, with the Namib Desert's extremely dry weather and pristine skies perfect for the activity. The desert, one of the world's oldest and largest, features a number of "telescope farms", says Tafreshi. "The landscape is ideal for stargazing. Looking around you can see a 360-degree panorama of the horizon." 

3. The Empty Quarter, Arabian Peninsula

  The Empty Quarter in the south-eastern part of the Arabian Peninsula is one of the largest continuous deserts in the world, covering an area of about 250,000 sq miles (650,000 sq km). As its name suggest, the desert is almost empty of people.  

4. Atacama Desert, Chile 

  Pristine night skies hang above most areas of the Atacama Desert, says Tafreshi. The world's most arid desert, located in Chile and small parts of Peru, Bolivia and Argentina, is also home to several astronomical observatories. "Atacama beats many other dark sky places by being high and dry and clear for so many nights per year. Walking on the desert between the scattered rocks and boulders on the pale red dust feels like being on Mars but under the Earth sky."  

Note: this fact has been taken from http://www.bbc.com/