We have a 'right to starlight,' astronomers say
August 15, 2009
The public's "right to starlight" is steadily being eroded by urban illumination that is the bane of astronomers everywhere, the International Astronomical Union said on Friday.
The public's "right to starlight" is steadily being eroded by urban illumination that is the bane of astronomers everywhere, the International Astronomical Union said on Friday.
The body, which wrapped up an 11-day general assembly in Rio de Janeiro that attracted galaxy-gazers from around the world, argued that authorities should use more unobtrusive lighting in cities and towns.
Such moves would not only free up the night skies to make for easier viewing but also promote environmental protection, energy savings and tourism, it said in a resolution.
"The progressive degradation of the night sky should be regarded as a fundamental loss," the union said.
It asserted that being able to see the stars "should be considered a fundamental socio-cultural and environmental right."
One Brazilian astronomer, Augusto Daminelli, told the Estado de Sao Paulo newspaper that in Rio, "it should be possible to see up to 5,000 stars with the naked eye -- but because of light pollution we can only see 150."
He noted that nearly a third of electric lighting is directed to the heavens, and thus wasted.
Possible solutions include putting aluminum covers on street lighting to direct the illumination downwards, and using weaker, more energy-efficient lamps, he said.
"More than two billion people in the world are unable to see the Milky Way. For us, the sky is a heritage site for mankind," he said.
(c) 2009 AFP
11 hours ago
Each time I've been out in a rural area at night, it's always cloudy. The rest of the time, I'm in the city/suburbs. I've only seen pictures of a sky covered in stars. I wonder what it all really looks like...
I'm glad I live in Vancouver, and when I drive an hour to Squamish to rock climb... every night I get wonderful stars everywhere. Yeah, we definitely need to reduce light pollution everywhere.
I don't think that's the case at all. Many astronomical observations require time exposures of 8-10 hours, sometimes compiled over many nights. A city many hundreds of miles away can fog these images, especially because common mercury vapor and high pressure sodium bulbs emit light that happens to fall right in the middle of the spectrum they're trying to see. They already build most telescopes in the most out-of-the-way places they can find, highest mountains, etc., but sometimes even that isn't enough. There has to be at least some infrastructure around to build these machines, so going to the middle of the Gobi Desert or K9 is not an option. The point is that it's possible to have both dark sky and necessary lighting, as long as a little thought goes into both...
And, environuts want to construct solar and wind farms in my deserts. This will break up the natural lichens underground and cause more dust and sand to be kicked up into the skies by the wind. Can't win either way. :)
Wait, so no matter how dark the world is, there will still be unacceptable light pollution from the observation facilities themselves? No, that's not the discussion here.
Those points do not speak to the concern raised by the IAU. They are saying that it's a right to "see the stars". One astronomer says that there are only a fraction of stars visible to the naked eye while in Rio.
I'm sorry, if you're standing in one of the largest cities on the planet, you should expect there to be a lot of ambient light. Even with no light directed skyward, there will still be a lot of light pollution (just look at the Moon for an extreme example).
If you want to see stars, you might have to move slightly away from your WiFi, cell towers, freeways, and 24 hour convenience stores.
Or higher. Ever been on a night plane with flight height 10 km?
If the Big Dig wasn't so damn expensive, and the people performing the project weren't so greedy and corrupt, it might have been the example of below ground roadwork that we were looking for to alleviate some city woes.
Even then you'll see a lot of LP from the plane itself.
Few things wrong. 1. Its at least a 3 hour drive away to an area where the stars are visible. 2. At night, where am i going to stay afterwards?
Sure. Nevertheless, it was the most impressive sight of the sky I ever had. Even more impressive than viewing the stars from (the terranean) mount olympos at 2100 m. Two of the moments I'll never forget.
I'm sure. I've been lucky enough to be in a location remote enough where LP wasn't a detectable issue. It was absolutely breath taking. I only hope we fix our lighting systems so that future generations can see it.
Besides, if you need more light bring a flashlight or turn on your headlights :-)
Well, I'll put it this way... I'm currently persuing a physics degree. The only reason I'm not going for some sort of astronomical specialty is because I don't want to have to live in the middle of nowhere, or have to drive a long distance to get to work. I'm a city boy.
Maybe aliens will spot our planet sooner due to the higher luminosity!
Exactly. By the same logic, I like boobies, so all (well not all) women should walk around topless.
1. It is a two to three hour drive for me as well. Live with it or live somewhere else where you don't have to deal with it.
2. Plan and go camping. You carry your lodging with you.
There! Problems solved. :)
First, thank you for qualifying that with "not all".
Second, a starlit sky has rammifications on health. Lack of seeing a starlit sky is actually detrimental to your health due to the impact of additional light on circadian mechanisms within the body.
A GW spokesman? Clarify please.
Sleeping with too much artificial light at night actually can mess one's body up in various ways due to interruption of circadian rythyms. There are a number of studies one can Google to that effect.
I started noticing various health problems and constant feeling like I never really slept--even though I did.
Since I started using a blackout curtain with an LED nightlight at the same spectrum of light that reflects off the moon, I have seen a dramatic difference in my health since doing so for the last year.
I sleep better and have felt more rested after sleep. And, I am an AGW agnostic/denier in spite of it.
You're out of your tree.
At what point in time did I speak of GW or anything having to do with GW? There's a known mechanism within the human body that corresponds to the day night cycle. Disturbing that cycle causes mental and physical problems over time. Less light of any type during the evening hours is beneficial to human health. If you can tie that into CO2 or AGW in any logical way then you need to do some serious thinking about what your stance is and why.
"Right to starlight"? What a bunch of horseshit. Put out, of course, by astronomers, who as usual in my professional experience have little contact with the rest of the human race.
"Elitist IAU demands 'right to starlight', could lead to light switch tax after 10 pm. Obama's 'science czar' spoke at their convention in 1988. This is proof America is being driven down a stalinst-enviro-fascist future."
As far as solving the light pollution problem, many cities in Ontario have already re-written their electrical codes to require that all sight,street and security lighting be installed with full cut-off optics only ( zero uplight)in an attempt to curb and eventually eliminate light pollution. The reason all of them haven't is cost.
A 10,000 square foot parking lot with a minimum illumination of .5 fc (foot candles) can be done with four 30 ft poles and 8 400w metal halide fixtures....if light pollution isn't an issue. Designing to the new specifications these muicipalities have instituted the job requires 9 poles and 12 fixtures. Option#1 cost $6500.00,
option#2 cost $12800.00.
This is funny because this is the job I was working on when I read this article. Needless to say my customer has the choice of which way to go as his sight is not in one of the cities with the strigent codes but he was attmepting to be environmentally concious until he got the quote....
BTW: I spotted the light-dome over Las Vegas over 200 miles away while approaching it from the west along I 80 in 1979. The glow from Havana, Cuba is abundantly clear from the Florida Keys despite the 90 mile separation.
The cities and towns own the roads. The only thing you could do to protest is stop paying taxes.
Good luck on that one.