Light pollution: 12:36 am and as I venture out into the night, only because I tend to keep odd hours, I look up to see…. Polaris is gone. Unseeable because of the reflection of...

pmorin Loc: Huntington Beach, Palm Springs

12:36 am and as I venture out into the night, only because I tend to keep odd hours, I look up to see…. Polaris is gone. Unseeable because of the reflection of millions of light sources in the atmosphere. I will be lost in the darkness without it. It was there not too long ago. I would suppose it’s a reflection of our advances in technology and how it leads to our loss of observable light from vast regions of our universe.
Perhaps it’s only temporary, but the days have been windy and the night sky is clear.

Edit

So I guess, upon further reflection, that this qualifies as a rant. Damn tequila

alberio Loc: Casa Grande AZ

pmorin wrote:

12:36 am and as I venture out into the night, only... (show quote)

Unfortunately light pollution is only going to get worse for visual observation. However if doing photography, there are some pretty good filters out there to combat its effects. Those will be my next purchase.

Dikdik Loc: Winnipeg, Canada

You have to go out into the country. When I was a child, the northern lights were common, but not as intense as they are now. With the increased intensity, they are no longer visible in the city. Another thing missing, and likely from ecological reasons, are fireflies. We used to catch them as kids; I haven't seen one for decades.

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

pmorin wrote:

12:36 am and as I venture out into the night, only... (show quote)

A worthy rant…

Polaris is pretty faint, but still visible here in the NC Piedmont on a clear night.

pmorin Loc: Huntington Beach, Palm Springs

alberio wrote:

Unfortunately light pollution is only going to get worse for visual observation. However if doing photography, there are some pretty good filters out there to combat its effects. Those will be my next purchase.

It’s not that I am concerned about taking photos, its just that I miss the night sky.

pmorin Loc: Huntington Beach, Palm Springs

Dikdik wrote:

You have to go out into the country. When I was a child, the northern lights were common, but not as intense as they are now. With the increased intensity, they are no longer visible in the city. Another thing missing, and likely from ecological reasons, are fireflies. We used to catch them as kids; I haven't seen one for decades.

Polaris was still faintly visible just a few months ago. But lately we’ve seen a great deal of lighting get put on a nearby freeway and ever since they fired them up, that stars brilliant display has disappeared.

pmorin Loc: Huntington Beach, Palm Springs

burkphoto wrote:

A worthy rant…

Polaris is pretty faint, but still visible here in the NC Piedmont on a clear night.

I have to drive out to the desert to see it. But luckily I’m also very close to Joshua Tree NP.

Reuss Griffiths Loc: Ravenna, Ohio

Some cities near significant observatories are switching to sodium vapor lamps for outdoor lighting. It can be subtracted from photographic images the observatories produce via computer program. It delays the time these
observatories will have to more remote locations. Not much benefit to visual observation or amateur photographers though,

jaydiep

alberio wrote:

Unfortunately light pollution is only going to get worse for visual observation. However if doing photography, there are some pretty good filters out there to combat its effects. Those will be my next purchase.

What sort of filters are those? I'd like to buy some myself.

Thanks.

Jay

alberio Loc: Casa Grande AZ

jaydiep wrote:

What sort of filters are those? I'd like to buy some myself.

Thanks.

Jay

Optolong L-eNhance dual bandpass light pollution filter. $200+, Optolong L-eXtreme f2 optics dual band filter $309. There are others, but these two seem to be very popular. I used the L-eNhance with good results. Remember these are for astrophotography, not visual.

jaydiep

alberio wrote:

Optolong L-eNhance dual bandpass light pollution filter. $200+, Optolong L-eXtreme f2 optics dual band filter $309. There are others, but these two seem to be very popular. I used the L-eNhance with good results. Remember these are for astrophotography, not visual.

Alberio,

Thanks for the suggestions.

Best regards, Jay

Jimmy T Loc: Virginia

pmorin wrote:

12:36 am and as I venture out into the night, only... (show quote)

This Light Pollution Map may be of help.
We live in the "Sticks" and there is nothing like watching the space shuttle pass in the night sky from our deck.
Az had the first light pollution law, and now many states including Fla have similar laws.
Best Wishes,
JimmyT Sends

https://www.lightpollutionmap.info/#zoom=4.00&lat=45.8720&lon=14.5470&state=eyJiYXNlbWFwIjoiTGF5ZXJCaW5nUm9hZCIsIm92ZXJsYXkiOiJ3YV8yMDE1Iiwib3ZlcmxheWNvbG9yIjpmYWxzZSwib3ZlcmxheW9wYWNpdHkiOjYwLCJmZWF0dXJlc29wYWNpdHkiOjg1fQ==

alberio Loc: Casa Grande AZ

Jimmy T wrote:

This Light Pollution Map may be of help. br We liv... (show quote)

The problem is strict enforcement of the laws. Even Tucson has compromised the night skies for Kitt Peak.

lamiaceae Loc: San Luis Obispo County, CA

pmorin wrote:

12:36 am and as I venture out into the night, only... (show quote)

There is a lot of light pollution in both Huntington Beach and Palm Springs. The sky is no longer dark from the Joshua Tree NP. The entire OC area is build up but a few places in the Santa Ana Mountains. What new Freeway is there in Southern California? I moved from the area to the Central Coast in 2020.

pmorin Loc: Huntington Beach, Palm Springs

lamiaceae wrote:

There is a lot of light pollution in both Huntington Beach and Palm Springs. The sky is no longer dark from the Joshua Tree NP. The entire OC area is build up but a few places in the Santa Ana Mountains. What new Freeway is there in Southern California? I moved from the area to the Central Coast in 2020.

Although the light pollution in the Coachella Valley and surrounding area has increased dramatically over the last decade, Joshua Tree still offers some dramatic night views. Huntington is totally polluted with light now and there are only a few stars visible anymore. Yes, it’s from our drive to build and it’s only going to get worse.
The “new” freeway opened is not new in that sense but Caltrans has added 2 new lanes in either direction to the 405 freeway from Costa Mesa to Seal Beach and in the process added a great deal of bright new lights to it. These have been enough to diminish my views of the stars and added to the disappearance of Polaris.