by Chris Peterson » Sat Jul 27, 2013 3:52 pm
Psnarf wrote::cry: Urban light pollution appears to be a global problem. Forty years ago, it was easy to find dark places for watching comets and other celestial wonders near Tucson, AZ. Probably why they built so many telescopes on Kitt Peak. Even then, however, you could see the glow from Phoenix a hundred miles to the north. These days you have to use a black-felt-lined tube to photograph anything overhead, former dark places are now filled with brightly-lit strip malls. When you are up against those with sufficient wealth to ensure a congress-critter's election, it is difficult to get anyone in office to notice the loss of a valuable asset like dark skies. There are strip-mall inhabitants trying to get zoning ordinance waivers so they can leave their neon signs lit well into the night. Would that there were dark skies once again.
True. Nevertheless, there remain many places on Earth where the astronomically interesting part of the sky (above 30° or so altitude) is essentially as dark as skies on Earth can get (I'm lucky enough to live in such a place, with the nearest light pollution source 40 miles away- enough to make a low light dome, but not to significantly impact my overhead sky).
I think it will be a while before we see any strip malls in the Atacama!
[quote="Psnarf"]:cry: Urban light pollution appears to be a global problem. Forty years ago, it was easy to find dark places for watching comets and other celestial wonders near Tucson, AZ. Probably why they built so many telescopes on Kitt Peak. Even then, however, you could see the glow from Phoenix a hundred miles to the north. These days you have to use a black-felt-lined tube to photograph anything overhead, former dark places are now filled with brightly-lit strip malls. When you are up against those with sufficient wealth to ensure a congress-critter's election, it is difficult to get anyone in office to notice the loss of a valuable asset like dark skies. There are strip-mall inhabitants trying to get zoning ordinance waivers so they can leave their neon signs lit well into the night. Would that there were dark skies once again.[/quote]
True. Nevertheless, there remain many places on Earth where the astronomically interesting part of the sky (above 30° or so altitude) is essentially as dark as skies on Earth can get (I'm lucky enough to live in such a place, with the nearest light pollution source 40 miles away- enough to make a low light dome, but not to significantly impact my overhead sky).
I think it will be a while before we see any strip malls in the Atacama!