I've been turning all my own lights off and going outside on moonless nights only to realize it's still bright enough to easily read once my eyes adjust :angery:
A couple years ago there was a big power outage in my town for a day or two. I wish I had started getting into astronomy and stargazing back then because I wasn't able to appreciate how dark it probably was at night. Didn't even cross my mind to look at that time. Eagerly awaiting the next time our rotting infrastructure allows me to look into the heavens.
Street lights I understand, but businesses keeping their lights on all night can fuck right off. "Oh it discourages theft" no it doesn't, it's just a huge burden on the power grid and the planet. Rich people fucking everyone over because they're paranoid someone will steal their shit delenda est.
streetlights can be designed to minimize light pollution and not doing that can fuck off
Yeah I should have mentioned businesses too. They aren't as obvious as the nearby residential sources of light pollution, but I think they actually contribute the most to the sky glow. My best view with the least obstacles is the southern part of the sky, but that's coincidentally the direction of the densest part of town.
The glow from all the businesses lights up the south sky from the horizon to probably 30 or 40 degrees up. Can't see shit in that direction besides the brightest stars in Scorpius. Just my luck that Sagittarius and the Milky Way is completely out of the question as a result of small business tyrants being paranoid.
Where i worked they left all the lights on and had a security guard and electronic locked door system. And someone still just strolled in and stole all the laptops lol.
Talk to and join local astronomy clubs. I've neglected mine since covid but I also have decent skies being ~600 feet above the city lights so my 8" dobs does well.
Our local astronomy club through meetup has three different fields they own out in the boonies that members can camp on. One is adjacent to public transport - like 2 miles down the road.
Thanks for bringing that up, I'll look into it. Been thinking about going out into the middle of nowhere on my own to get a better look at the sky, but was getting skeeved out about the idea of doing it on the side of the road or accidentally trespassing onto some hostile jerk's land. A local astronomy club will probably know of some good spots.
Community colleges usually have resources as well. Our local CC lets our local astronomy club polish lenses in the fab shop.
the first time i saw the proper night sky, with all the galaxies and shit visible, i genuinely felt dizzy and overwhelmed. it was one of the most beautiful things i ever saw but also damn there's a lot going on
it looked 3d, if that makes sense. like it was so many stars it's like they were forming their own dust clouds or something. but i did not look long enough to notice movement tbh
it really was. it was on my one and only trip into the mountains, which were breath-taking too of course, but the night sky was still the most intense thing i ever saw
Generally it's static unless there's the odd shooting star or if you're close enough to the poles to see auroras. But if it's really properly dark, then there are so many stars visible that you can easily lose even the major constellations in the noise.
Camping out in the wilderness where the darkest skies are is such a wonderful experience. Everyone should get to see the Milky Way with their own eyes
Those electronic billboards are particularly egregious when it comes to light pollution. A lot of street lights could be made in a way that doesn't really contribute to light pollution since the biggest issue is the light going upwards, just sorta need a shade on them as far as I'm aware to keep more light from going upwards. Fuck electronic billboards.
The color play a big part as well, both in how it causes your eyes to adjust and in how well it scatters in the atmosphere.
My best childhood memory is going outside while it was dark out during the winter and stargazing with my brother. I miss living in a rural area. I wish I didn't feel so hollow now. I miss being a kid. :doomer:
Eagerly awaiting the next time our rotting infrastructure allows me to look into the heavens.
The one argument in favor of moving to Texas
Spent a holiday on the gulf coast once, like right on the beach. To think night skies like those are wasted on Alabamans.
I grew up in a suburb surrounded by car dealerships. Inner city here doesn't even cover the light pollution levels. The sky was a constant purple twilight at darkest.
North Korea is bad because it doesn't have night pollution. ---liberals
You Hex the moon as a bit on TikTok
I hex the moon because I am trying to get a good exposure of Eta Carinae.
We are not the same.
