Light Pollution: how does it affect you?

[emitter]

Here's a link to a good article on the subject in Sky and Telescope magazine.
http://skyandtelescope.com/resources/darksky/article_81_1.asp
here's another good site: www.darksky.org
The Pleiades constellation is often used as a metric for light pollution. If you can see 6 stars that's pretty good nowdays.

IMNSHO: Sodium vapor street lights are certanly necessary for highways and downtown areas, but do small villages (been to Dryden, NY?) need a light every 30 ft to 'protect' the community? I'd feel safer with my eyes dark adapted. The issue obviously touches on overpopulation and crime.

-Ned

 

[leddite]

reading an astro related forum a while ago, people figured that criminals *prefer* street lamps and obvious well lit areas. why? it's make their job of sneaking around SO much easier. they have shadows to hide in, and don't need flashlights to move around in total darkenss; without street lamps, those flashlights would be seen as ever so obvious beacons. criminals would generally HATE the motion sensor lights; if those come on, people would be more alert for "something is up" and the criminal would never know if there's a person now watching (manual, automatic? who knows - run). same goes for street thugs. they can hide out in shadows and watch the sheep er people wander around in the light oblivious to their presence. makes for much easier pickings.

then there's the general beauty of the night sky. is the population at large so afraid of the sky and the night that they'd prefer to drown it out?

we get people moving out into the "country" around here, from the city, and insisting on street lamps on every corner, and well lit parking lots. they moved to the country for the peace and quiet and solitude and darkenss and intend to turn it into the place they ran away from. har.

 

[EMPOWERTORCH]

The light pollution is at its worst when there is snow and cloud. Last winter it was light enough to read my mail without putting on any lights at 9pm at night!
It seems that the worst offenders around our town are the industrial estates. Huge bulbs (1000W SON-T) on very high poles glare out across fields and townscape alike all night!
Thier light is scattered by lorry exhaust fumes and light up the night sky as bright as a sunset on a calm night!
Surely the lights nead to be smaller and nearer than they are!
One particular bulb shines straight into my bedroom a shadow, and can be annoying sometimes!
Another huge lorry freight handling depot is festooned with hundreds of high powered lights!

 

[Lurker]

It sounds like you folks in England have a much worse problem than what I've typically seen in the US. But because the problem isn't bad enough in the US to be obvious to most people yet, there is very little awareness, so it is likely that our light pollution will get much worse over time.

The odd thing is that it really wouldn't take much to curb the problem. A "good" outdoor light fixture need be no more expensive than a "bad" outdoor fixture. Also that "good" fixture is typically a lot more effective at lighting the intended area and has reduced glare. They can even save on energy costs. If manufacturers simply used good design principles in their products, everyone would benefit in every way.

 

[FalconFX]

Darell can attest to this as well...
In Davis, we had a mayor who went out of the way to make sure the street lights are covered from filtering up or turned down enough so that the night sky was more visible to the eyes.

Of course, this was the same mayor that built a frog crossing near a freeway and post office...
/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif

 

[The_LED_Museum]

I have to keep the curtains shut just to sleep in my room at night... those darned sodium bulbs are bright enough to read by if I have the curtains open. If I want to read at night, I'll use a flashlight or a booklight, not those stupid darned sodium bulbs outside. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

Forget about stargazing here... the dimmest objects I can see from here are around magnitude 0 or -1. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif

 

[Silviron]

I'm surprised at you guys. I would think that light pollution would be defined around here as one of the old pea green Luxeons.

It isn't light pollution that annoys me. It is noise polution that I hate.

 

[Blikbok]

I hate the uneven harsh light from lightpoles. Many times, I'm using a flashlight because the transition from pool of light to shadow is so harsh I'm functionally blind.

I would rather ditch all exterior lighting than have our proliferation of poor lighting. Half of the places around DC are lit up 24/7, regardless of inhabitation. God help us if we develop free engery-- it'll never be dark again.

I'm going camping way west of here, so I'm looking forward to perfect dark. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[PlayboyJoeShmoe]

DAMN! ANOTHER reason to want to get back to Vegas!!!

The road between Vegas and Laughlin gets pretty darn empty! I should get to see the sky again!

 

[paulr]

I remember watching the first Lord of the Rings movie (haven't seen the 2nd yet) with its sweeping outdoor scenic shots. And the first thing that struck me was how there were no electric lights, and how beautiful the night sky must have been...

 

[Wits' End]

The other night I had problems seeing the light from my Ultra, the almost full moon was so bright /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif
We spent the night at a friends house and my wife wanted a dim light for tending the baby. The electric lights were much brighter and harsher than our kerosene lamps. So I gave her my Ultra to leave on for the 6-8 hours needed. She said "it needs a dimmer" /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon3.gif

Our county has light guidelines now. I was talking to the guy who is designing the lighting for our new $30 million high school /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/ohgeez.gif . The 70 foot light poles for the stadium have to get a waiver from the county as they exceed the height for light poles allowed by the Light Pollution code and the parking lot lights will be reduced in output but increased in number. It is a big concern even in rural Lake County, MN, USA

 

[EMPOWERTORCH]

3 Bulbs are enough to create some light pollution!
Whilst in Nant Gwynnant I took my Luxeon torch up a mountain road to rally get in the dark! (It's interesting that a 5W Luxeon torch can light as well as a 300W HPS bulb without causing the light pollution in the sky!)
Having walked about a mile up the mountainside I switched off the torch and turned around. In the valley I could see an orange glow among the blackness of the silhouetted mountain landscape! Yet there are only 3 HPS bulbs in the whole village! It is astounding isn't it!