Dark Skies

Tarrel · Post by **Tarrel** » 11 Dec 2013, 17:46

Best light pollution map / simulator I have yet seen.

Scroll down to the interactive map..

http://www.need-less.org.uk/#lpsimulator

woodburner · Post by **woodburner** » 11 Dec 2013, 18:32

I fear most people don't give a stuff about light pollution, and think that more light means more "security". They forget that many crimes are committed in daylight, probably more than occur at night.

biffvernon · Post by **biffvernon** » 11 Dec 2013, 21:57

Nice website Tarell. I guess you're in a dark area? We're fairly dark on the Lincolnshire coast.

Tarrel · Post by **Tarrel** » 11 Dec 2013, 22:07

biffvernon wrote:Nice website Tarell. I guess you're in a dark area? We're fairly dark on the Lincolnshire coast.

Well, not as dark as I thought we were! Centring the map on our house gives a sky rating of 3 stars, which is what I expected as we are in a town. But moving across to the coast of the Moray Firth only gives 4 stars. You have to go up into Sutherland to get a full 5 stars, although that's not far - maybe 10 miles.

vtsnowedin · Post by **vtsnowedin** » 11 Dec 2013, 22:29

Very clever of them. I thought throwing in the jet passing overhead was a nice touch. I've several times had visitors from more urban areas ooh and aah at the sky view from my door yard. I can often see orbiting satellites pass over on a crisp winter night. You city chaps should make it a point to get out into the sticks in the summer and sleep under the stars once in a while. It brings perspective

woodburner · Post by **woodburner** » 11 Dec 2013, 22:50

Trouble is, over here the "sticks" is so far north, that it hardly gets dark in the summer.

Tarrel · Post by **Tarrel** » 11 Dec 2013, 22:50

S'pose I shouldn't complain. We certainly have better skies than when I lived in the South East.

Took this last winter. The orange glow is very local street lighting, but it is not extensive enough to lighten the sky very much. You can see Orion, Taurus and the Pleiades clearly...

Post by **clv101** » 11 Dec 2013, 23:17

Brilliant visualisation!

vtsnowedin · Post by **vtsnowedin** » 11 Dec 2013, 23:25

I do expect electricity wasted on lighting the night sky along with flared gas at well heads to become a thing of the past in the not too distant future. The stars will be there waiting when that time comes.

woodburner · Post by **woodburner** » 12 Dec 2013, 00:00

I expect light pollution will be the last thing to stop. Light is a convenient way of giving people the impression of BAU. If the lights go out, panic will set in.

Post by **adam2** » 12 Dec 2013, 08:19

Light pollution is being slighly reduced in some areas due to the increasing price of electricity, and concerns about preserving the night sky.

In opposition to this is the increasing efficiency of lighting which is sometimes used not to reduce energy use, but to give more light for the same energy consumption.

There is however some hope in the rapid adoption of LED lighting for street lighting and similar purposes.
LEDs are easily dimmed unlike most other lamps used for street lighting, it is a simple matter to dim the lights at times of reduced traffic such as after midnight. Far less light is needed when surfaces are covered in snow, and this is easily achieved.
LEDs also start instantly at full output making control by presence detectors worthwhile on less used roads and footpaths.
LEDs are inherently directional making it easier to design street lights with no upward light whatsoever.

RenewableCandy · Post by **RenewableCandy** » 12 Dec 2013, 19:25

They're supposed to be putting in LED streetlights here in York. I've yet to see one, mind.

Tarrel · Post by **Tarrel** » 12 Dec 2013, 20:39

RenewableCandy wrote:They're supposed to be putting in LED streetlights here in York. I've yet to see one, mind.

We have them. Trouble is, they really are incredibly bright. I also suspect their colour temperature is much higher than other street lights, which could lead to circadian rhythm disruption. My wife woke up in the middle of the night the other day, and said she could hear birds tweeting. (I told her to turn off her Twitter feed, but she was not amused.)

Unfortunately, Highland Council hasn't seen the wisdom of turning off the street lights after midnight yet.

woodburner · Post by **woodburner** » 12 Dec 2013, 23:55

I used to hear robins at six o'clock in the morning in the winter in Stevenage, so it does not need to be bright. Even now the birds are up and about at 0700 and that's away from street lighting.

The driver for local authorities is usually the morons in society who think that lights should be everywhere, all night. They make questionable claims that it makes for safety and security.

Tarrel · Post by **Tarrel** » 13 Dec 2013, 00:01

woodburner wrote:I used to hear robins at six o'clock in the morning in the winter in Stevenage, so it does not need to be bright. Even now the birds are up and about at 0700 and that's away from street lighting.

The driver for local authorities is usually the morons in society who think that lights should be everywhere, all night. They make questionable claims that it makes for safety and security.

Yes, this was at 2.00 am though, and the sun doesn't come up here until 08.45!