It may seem impossible to darken the skies over America and reclaim your view of
the magnificent Milky Way, but it's not! Please search the following for solutions to
light pollution:
A nighttime
satellite view of the upper midwest showing the light pollution of cities and towns below.
Little Ames, Iowa, is located almost exactly at the center of the image. Chicago is on the right and
Minneapolis is at the top. Trace the line of lights marking I-80 westward from Chicago through
the Quad Cities, Des Moines, and Omaha. Ames is straight north of Des Moines about 35 miles. How
would you like to try to be a stargazer in Chicago? This image has a resolution of about 2.7 kilometers
or 1.6 miles. Click on the image to make it larger. This is a DMSP photo.
My identical 20 minute exposure
photos of the Big Dipper. The top one was taken in the country under dark sky conditions.
The bottom photo was taken the same night in my backyard under light polluted sky conditions.
Look what a difference light pollution makes! Won't you help to eliminate this awful blight on the
night?
All of us are historically and intimately linked to the sky. But folks, we are also the very first humans living on this planet to create a lifestyle that is slowly destroying our connection with the sky. Have you ever been somewhere on a dark, moonless night, far from city lights, perhaps an isolated mountain, forest, desert, lake, or ocean? Have you ever noticed that the sky from such a dark, remote area is splattered with stars, zillions of stars, that actually seem to be within arm's reach? If so, you've noticed that stargazing in the city is much different than stargazing in the country? Urban stargazers see far fewer stars compared to rural stargazers. The reason there is such a difference is because of LIGHT POLLUTION--the unwanted glow of city lights shining up into the night sky. Even in small cities like Ames, stargazing can be very challenging. Imagine watching your favorite movie in a well-lit theater. The light completely overwhelms the movie and you quickly lose interest. Likewise, the beautiful nightly celestial show is easily destroyed by the improper use of streetlights and other outdoor lighting at night. It isn't that astronomers want all the lights turned off as much as they want to make streetlights and other lights do what they should do--shine down on the ground. By properly shielding our streetlights and directing other lights downward, we can save two things: The night sky for all of us, and lots of MONEY.
You can learn more about light pollution problems and how to help cleanse the night sky of the awful glow by learning more about the work of the International Dark-Sky Association (IDA) and the Educational Observatory Institute, Inc. An actual photograph taken from space at night of light pollution (click on USNighttime) in the eastern half of the United States shows you why urban stargazers must have the "right stuff" when it comes to skywatching. Even little Ames, Iowa, (~50,000 people) and all the smaller surrounding communities are easily visible on this astounding photograph. If you're not from Ames can you find your community? Most of the light you see in this photograph is wasted light shining up into the sky instead of where it belongs--down on the ground. Remember, by controlling light pollution we save money, lots of money! We can do better, but it will take a commitment by many people to make a difference, so that nearly everyone has a better view of the universe. To see how astronomers in the northeast part of the country are working together to combat light pollution, see the New England Light Pollution Advisory Group. Another nighttime photograph showing the entire U.S. is available on a list of Earth Pictures labeled "USA at night." This photo doesn't show the same amount of detail as others, but it does include the western half of the U.S., especially the west coast, where a lot of severe light pollution exists. While you are at this link, be sure to look at some of the other images available. The Moon creates its own monthly style of light pollution, but when it is in the sky it provides a very interesting target of observing opportunity.