Light Pollution Getting Worse

[Cataract]

Hmmm, aside from altidude differences, the horizon SHOULD be at the same distance for every one.



And, seriously, you're right it seems.

Actually, the east/west horizons get further and further away as you get closer to the equator :geek face:
With altitude, the horizon should seem closer (earlier sunrise and later sunset), but some are stuck in a hole where the sun don't shine

A few years ago I was far out East where population is pretty scarce and I was being nagged by these little light flashes I could see every few minutes. After observing long enough, I found out what it was: I could see artificial satellites pretty much everywhere. If you can't see those on a clear night, then you are definitely experiencing light pollution.

 

[AnAppleSnail]

Here's that article:

How I beat light pollution in my hometown

 

[Cataract]

That's a different town, not even the same country for that matter, but it's nice to see that someone can make a difference. The case I was talking about was different; it was a request from the observatory to the town hall that got addressed farily quickly. But thanks to you, now we know what to do and it might work for other things than just light pollution... of course, changes would definitely come sooner and faster in small towns than metropolises.

 

[LEDAdd1ct]

I am pretty sure in 2013 (give or take a few decades) most of humanity, congregated in or around major metropolitan areas,
does not know what real "night" and "dark" look and feel like.

The few times I've been lucky enough to experience it,
it is as if the darkness in the air actually touches your skin and has a real, fleshy presence.

Turning on any flashlight in that atmosphere makes you feel like a powerful being.

I have a feeling that if more CPF'ers lived in rural areas, they would be satisfied with far less lumens.

Here are some links on urbanization; I feel fairly confident in stating that areas of higher population density will have proportionately (or even exponentially) more light pollution:

Link One

Link Two

Link Three

Link Four (PDF)

 

[kaichu dento]

Nice post - reminds me of spending time outside at night during the winter with the Japanese years ago.

After telling them we'd continue on as soon as they were ready, they would just stand there in the darkness, not making a sound.
Took a while for one of them to finally explain that since most of them were from the Tokyo area, absolute dark and absolute
silence were new sensations for them and they were trying to absorb as much as they could while they had the chance.

 

[mvyrmnd]

Turning on any flashlight in that atmosphere makes you feel like a powerful being.

I have a feeling that if more CPF'ers lived in rural areas, they would be satisfied with far less lumens.

This is exactly why I want MORE lumens. Smashing through the complete darkness of a empty paddock, or bushland, with a multi-thousand lumen light is even more empowering than in a city.

 

[LEDAdd1ct]

I can see that perspective as well, and would even enjoy it.

I wonder if we could add a poll to this thread:

"Do you consider yourself to live in an area with heavy light pollution?"

 

[SemiMan]

I can see that perspective as well, and would even enjoy it.

I wonder if we could add a poll to this thread:

"Do you consider yourself to live in an area with heavy light pollution?"

I do ... but fortunately there is a very large lake directly south of me that cuts the potential lights in my area by 50%

Semiman

 

[Slazmo]

I was outside the other night trying to catch a glimpse of the meteor shower we were to be able to see on the eastern seaboard of Australia on the 21st April...

Problem was the lights from Surfers Paradise was so bad that night that we couldn't see anything other than some of the brightest stars in the sky, light pollution is a major thing these days ruins the most beautiful backdrop to our lives the night sky with its stars and heavenly bodies!

 

[N8N]

Unfortunately, because people suck, light pollution is going to continue to be a problem...

my parents live fairly in the middle of nowhere, but it's difficult to enjoy the darkness even at their place because there's a big HPS light on the pole barn near the house to light up the yard/driveway. Reason being that burglaries are not uncommon even in that area. So most people have big lights on their property, even if they are much farther apart than in a city.

 

[sticktodrum]

I live in NYC, but only work in Manhattan. I live in Queens and it's really not that bad around my area. A few street lights, and they're pretty sparse. Going out to Long Island is nice because there are many towns with very little light. After meeting and befriending a few astrophysics majors in my undergraduate years, I would go out to Montauk and observe the skies. Good stuff.

 

[kuna]

I also live just around 17 miles from NYC and the light pollution is bad. It really is amazing when you get to a darker sky and you can see how many stars there really are. I remember seeing the milky way for the first time a few years ago and being amazed

 

[LEDAdd1ct]

I thought forty to fifty miles outside NYC was good until I really saw dark skies out west. The whole eastern seaboard glows at night.

 

[Sigurthr]

I live out in the country, but I have a "major" city 20mi to the northeast and the state's largest prison system 15mi to the southeast of me. Normally I'm rural enough to see a sky full of stars when all the exterior lights are off, but if there is any cloud cover at all the light pollution from the prison and city just obscures huge sections of sky. Myself, and most of my "neighbors" (one to two miles away at closest) have sodium lamps to help cut down the stray light. It IS easier to see the stars in a blue/green deficient ambience. I personally have a 55W LPS lamp doing all my exterior security lighting, but the bulbs and ballasts are hard to find so it isn't exactly a catching trend. I have a LED spotlight for right in front of the house where we park that we only keep on when we leave or are expecting company, and it is amazing how much it cuts down stellar visibility.