What’s behind all this, an alien conspiracy? Is the government hiding something from us? Well, I think we all know what is going on. And if you don’t know, you need to get informed. For anyone who has observed the skies for more than a few years, it is obvious that stars are disappearing. And I hate to say it, but it is your fault. I say that in a generic way, because I am partly to blame as well as everyone else who contributes to air pollution or uses excessive lighting. Light pollution is stealing our enjoyment of the night sky.
I spoke of this months ago in “Starry, starry night. Where are you?” You can make a positive impact on this problem by doing everything you can to reduce your pollution and excessive energy consumption (which of course also contributes to pollution). In this case of course it is important to reduce unnecessary lighting. For more ideas on what you can do to reduce your impact, there are tons of sites online offering suggestions. I recommend for ideas on cutting light pollution, and the Nature Conservancy’s Everyday Environmentalist site for general ideas.
But you can not only help reduce light pollution, you also can contribute to the study of global light pollution while enjoying a family activity under the stars. Between February 25 and March 8, thousands of people around the world will participate in the “Globe at Night” program. The concept is simple. On a clear evening during this period, go out about an hour after sunset and observe Orion. The constellation is conveniently located in the southern sky at that time, and quite easy to find. You don’t need — or want — telescopes or binoculars. This observation needs to be done with just your eyes. Basically you just compare what you see to several graphics available on the Globe at Night website, then report your findings online.
The Globe at Night program is suitable for all ages and abilities, individuals, families and classes. In fact I am assigning it to my college-level students as homework. It should be a lot of fun as well as providing useful research.
And if you enjoy the nighttime version, there is information on the Globe at Night website for daytime observations of clouds and contrails. Not enough for you? There are more activities at The Globe Program. Then check out NASA’s Sun-Earth Day website for more Make and Take Activities. (Sun-Earth Day this year is March 20).
The stars are disappearing and it’s your fault (and mine, of course). But you can do something about it and have fun at the same time!
Learn all about light pollution at http://www.britelitesout.com.Thank you.
Thanks, Jina. I checked out your site and it has some great information.
Larry S.
I couldn’t agree with you more. One of my best childhood memories was sleeping outside with the stars. My grandma house in Mexico was too small for all her grand kids so a few lucky ones would get to sleep outside. To insure myself a place in the outside setup I would tell my younger cousins the story of “la llorona”. It always worked.
My grandma has long past and her adobe house is no more then a mount. When I’ve driven through there I noticed street lights all over. Young kids now a day have no idea what they are missing out in.
It kind of reminds me of that story where there is only one tree left in the world. Now it is stars that are disappearing. Will there come a time where you won’t be able to see any more stars at all? I hope not. I don’t know for a fact but people who live in big cities probably can’t see any stars at all. Just another indicator of global warming.
I don’t have any statistics (but I’m sure they are out there), but if the current trend continues unabated, I would suspect that before this century is out, 95 percent of the human race wil never have even seen a star at night. I’m just pulling that out of thin air, but there certainly is reason to feel that way. Twenty years ago I once managed to see the Milky Way from my home in southeast Denver. Today I’m lucky to see a third magnitude star.
And of course from some metropolitan areas it is even worse.
But I didn’t say that I am convinced that the trend will continue as it currently is. If we continue to wake up about pollution (of all kinds) and truly do something about it rather than treat is as the currently “politicaly correct” thing to do, then maybe there is a chance.
LS
Unfortunately as a serious amateur astronomer, who resides in a dark location, I am too well aware of the problem. I spend on average 3 to 4 nights a week observing and have seen a gradual deterioration in the night sky as development encroaches on my property. Only 20% of the population has ever seen the milky way (the plane of our galaxy) and I fear that with continued urbanization and unwise use of lighting technology our children will never see what at one time was taken for granted; the night sky. You don’t miss what you have never experienced is a truism that bodes ill for the future of our sky. If we cannot arrest this trend we will all be impoverished as another resource is lost with the march of progress.
Mark,
Yeah, we are getting whammied by two forms of pollution, the crud that fills the skies and the excess light we are shining on it through poorly designed lighting and ill-considered developments. A small nature center I have given star parties at used to be in a dark location, but a major street development, light rail and within the past few years a strip mall with megalights adjacent to the east side of their property have all but ruined it for observing much of anything but the Moon and a few planets. It’s such a shame, but like you say, so few today know the difference and if they don’t know the difference, they don’t care.
Speaking of once dark locations, I was hoping to see the Geminids meteor shower this December but because I live California, the skys are quite polluted and aren’t very clear. What kind of a location would you suggest would be best for someone who lives in a highly urbanized area? Is there anything, short of going out of state, that I can do? I’m afraid that if I choose a rural forest area i won’t beable to see the shower through the trees and that if I choose an ocean front location, the fog will ruin any chance of seeing it. Are those correct concerns or am i just worrying too much about losing yet another chance of seeing one of the showers that we’ve had this year?
Lindsey,
There is no single best answer I an give you. There is light pollution almost everywhere. The single most important thing is to get away from *all* direct lights — street lights, house lights car lights — and let your eyes adapt to the darkness for at least 15 minutes. Find a location such that the majority of urban light pollution is in the opposite direction from what you are intending to observe. For a meteor shower radiating from the northeast, try to have all the major cities and such to your west.
As far as a specific location, look at that graphic at the top of this blog. In California there are a number of “pockets” of relatively light-free areas, including some of the Central Valley and parts of the northern interior. I would be surprised if there aren’t some good areas north of Sacramento.
Obviously you would want an area with as large a view of the sky as possible, so certainly heavily wooded areas are out, and as you suggested, the coastal areas are certainly not good choices most of the time. (It *can* be surprisingly clear on the coast from time to time, but I wouldn’t count on it.) You can find open meadows in forested areas (maybe state and national parks), but in my opinion, one of the best places might be any desert areas such as Death Valley and others. There is no question that you will have to do some driving to find a good spot, but suspect that if you got maybe 20 miles outside the boundaries of any major metro area (except LA and SF), you could find a decent spot. For LA and SF you’ll likely have to go farther, at least 50 miles east to northeast for LA.) If you do go out of state, of course there are plenty of choices in Nevada.
By the way, meteor showers happen every year, and sometimes the timing is better than at other times. Having a full moon in the sky can be as bad a moderately bad light pollution. (Also keep in mind that the term “shower” is misleading, because they are never like rain showers or the shower in your bathroom — 1 to 2 meteors per minute is a really good meteor shower.) So if you don’t catch them this year, don’t give up.
LS