Study of Global Light Pollution
Jerry, you might be interested in some of these apps and tools.
https://telescopius.com
https://www.cleardarksky.com
https://www.astrospheric.com
https://astronomy.tools
https://www.startools.org
https://www.darkskymap.com
https://www.darksky.org
https://www.cleardarksky.com/maps/lp/large_light_pollution_map.html
https://auroraforecast.com
https://www.windy.com
CS.
scott
https://telescopius.com
https://www.cleardarksky.com
https://www.astrospheric.com
https://astronomy.tools
https://www.startools.org
https://www.darkskymap.com
https://www.darksky.org
https://www.cleardarksky.com/maps/lp/large_light_pollution_map.html
https://auroraforecast.com
https://www.windy.com
CS.
scott
Jerry, you might be interested in some of these apps and tools.
https://telescopius.com
https://www.cleardarksky.com
https://www.astrospheric.com
https://astronomy.tools
https://www.startools.org
https://www.darkskymap.com
https://www.darksky.org
https://www.cleardarksky.com/maps/lp/large_light_pollution_map.html
https://auroraforecast.com
https://www.windy.com
CS.
scott
Hi Scott,
Thanks! I've got most of those bookmarked and use astronomy.tools a lot. I'll check out the ones you listed I don't know about.
Light pollution is kind of depressing. I can imagine living 5000 years ago, or even 600 years ago where every sky was Bortle 1 and the only "artificial" light was fire and candlelight. Of course they didn't have the incredible tools we have, but the night sky in all its glory was available to everyone. I think as a species we are losing something really vital to our psychological health by not being able to see the splendor of the night sky regularly...
Jerry
www.jerrygerber.com
Well written Insightful Respectful Engaging
Light pollution is a big problem to everyone that is keen on observing the sky at night.
In many cases it is not only the general pollution but also very local light disturbances that makes it harder.
It is difficult to measure the true light disturbance in one or more areas of the sky.
These LP-maps gives a clue to what to expect but there are many local variations.
It is first when we are getting around Bortle 3 or better this stops to be a problem.
In my case a usually do astrophoto from my Bortle 5 backyard and it works well even with OSC and only UV/IR-filter if I block from interfering light sources. But moving to my secondary Bortle 4 makes a huge difference.
But when it comes to visual observations I often feel like Bortle 4 or better is a necessity. Our eyes are not as good as the cameras and postprocessing isn't an option (as this isn't fishing we are talking about).
One other thing is that I think most people want to be able to see the stars and sky clear both directly and thru the scope when doing visual observations.
In many cases it is not only the general pollution but also very local light disturbances that makes it harder.
It is difficult to measure the true light disturbance in one or more areas of the sky.
These LP-maps gives a clue to what to expect but there are many local variations.
It is first when we are getting around Bortle 3 or better this stops to be a problem.
In my case a usually do astrophoto from my Bortle 5 backyard and it works well even with OSC and only UV/IR-filter if I block from interfering light sources. But moving to my secondary Bortle 4 makes a huge difference.
But when it comes to visual observations I often feel like Bortle 4 or better is a necessity. Our eyes are not as good as the cameras and postprocessing isn't an option (as this isn't fishing we are talking about).
One other thing is that I think most people want to be able to see the stars and sky clear both directly and thru the scope when doing visual observations.
Helpful
Tommy Blomqvist:
Light pollution is a big problem to everyone that is keen on observing the sky at night.
In many cases it is not only the general pollution but also very local light disturbances that makes it harder.
It is difficult to measure the true light disturbance in one or more areas of the sky.
These LP-maps gives a clue to what to expect but there are many local variations.
It is first when we are getting around Bortle 3 or better this stops to be a problem.
In my case a usually do astrophoto from my Bortle 5 backyard and it works well even with OSC and only UV/IR-filter if I block from interfering light sources. But moving to my secondary Bortle 4 makes a huge difference.
But when it comes to visual observations I often feel like Bortle 4 or better is a necessity. Our eyes are not as good as the cameras and postprocessing isn't an option (as this isn't fishing we are talking about).
One other thing is that I think most people want to be able to see the stars and sky clear both directly and thru the scope when doing visual observations.
I know what you mean. I looked at an app that shows dark sky places i California (where I live) and there's a little tiny town on the Northern California coast that is listed as Bortle 2. It said there is even parking at the site. But when I zoomed in I realized the parking is right next to a 4-star hotel. So even though it's technically a Bortle 2 sky, the actual site most likely has a lot of artificial light that isn't included in the estimate of how dark it really is.
I'm excited about my beginner's journey into astrophotography and bought an Optolong L-Enhance filter, to help deal with LP but there's still that experience of standing under a totally dark sky that is irreplaceable by any technology. We obviously need "dark sky nature reserves" located in every state or province in every nation so that people can refresh their souls and psyches simply by looking up. It might contribute to making us better humans.
Helpful Insightful Respectful Engaging
I was speaking to my sister on the weekend about my astrophotography and I mentioned how light pollution is a growing concern and how sad it is that so many people cannot see a truly dark night sky now. "Why is that a problem?" she asked.
All I could do was sigh 😪
All I could do was sigh 😪
Well written Engaging
To bring home the message that it does matter, I like to link dark skies to the other massive anthropogenic changes wrought by all of us in the last century
Loss of biodiversity
Loss of viable land
Loss of glaciers/ice caps
Loss of stars at night
These are just the symptoms of the same underlying cause.
Loss of biodiversity
Loss of viable land
Loss of glaciers/ice caps
Loss of stars at night
These are just the symptoms of the same underlying cause.
Engaging
Comparing duo-band filters
Duo-band filters are very useful for imaging nebulae with light pollution or… Moonlight, when using color cameras. Since the brands select narrowbands (H alpha and Oxygen III) in slightly different wavelenghs, the results can be different too. ...
Relevant to light pollution mitigation strategies for astrophotography imaging in bright conditions.