ABC Survey: can you see the Milky Way stars from your house

[Leo.G (Leo)]

I found this survey this morning while browsing the news on my phone. It's to do with modern light pollution.



https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/...-sky/104158476




There's another interesting article showing how much effect the new LED street lights have on our night sky in comparison to the old street lights.


https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/...nomy/104087466


It appears the survey continues from the second link I posted.



Since LED lights went in around the regional suburb where I live the gorgeous view of the night sky disappeared, my entire back yard lights up like a Friday night football televised game oval. My regular positioning for my mount had to be changed and the cutting down of street trees which used to mostly block the street light from coming into my yard certainly hasn't helped.


When I was a kid a sling shot or slug gun would have rectified the problem, now I doubt either would get past the cover. I can't even damage the pole with a chainsaw, it's concrete....
No, I'm not a destructive person I just have strange thoughts on occasion.


I am lucky in I'm only a short drive (under 30 minutes) to a friends dark sky site but it's no fun in winter shivering in someone else's yard and carting the gear to do the shots, not for me anyway. I always forget something.
Plus the kangaroos and wombats can be an issue on the roads, any time of the year.

[strongmanmike (Michael)]

Originally Posted by Leo.G

but it's no fun in winter shivering in someone else's yard

Wimp .....ok, sure, I'm a little

Seriously though, alas, the night skies, they are only going to get worse, much worse, we just have to enjoy it while we can, there will soon be no true Bortle 1 skies anywhere on Earth

Mike

[Startrek (Martin)]

Thanks for posting
Here’s my backyard in Sydney ( Bortle 7/8 plus neighbours lights )
Las Vegas in the suburbs
Lovely isn’t it !!
Doesn’t stop me imaging though ( mostly narrowband )
I’d rather have this than obstructed views due to being surrounded by massive trees , buildings or towers etc… where you have no alternatives.
Increasing LP is a part of life , it ain’t going away and gonna get worse
Astro technology has to keep advancing
Same can be said for satellites clogging up the night sky !!
Cheers
Martin

[strongmanmike (Michael)]

Originally Posted by Startrek

Thanks for posting
Here’s my backyard in Sydney ( Bortle 7/8 plus neighbours lights )
Las Vegas in the suburbs
Lovely isn’t it !!

I know how you feel, bluudy Cooma!

.....

sorry...

Lucky we have only one Moon though

Mike

[glend (Glen)]

The Global Light Pollution map is a valuable resource, located here:

https://www.lightpollutionmap.info/#...NpdHkiOjg1fQ==

If you open on the home location (which you can pickup by just searching for Light Pollution map, it will display a European view. Pretty depressing there. But you can drag the map back to Australia, and it's pretty obvious we have it very good in terms of darkness, unless you live in SEQLD, Sydney megaplex, Melbourne, etc. The good news is you do not have to drive very far to find true darkness. I have tracked the light pollution in my area, around Lake Macquarie NSW, for over a decade, using my Sky Quality Meter, and yeah, even here things have gotten worse.

However great dark places, like Bretti Reserve near Gloucester, are not very far away. You may not be able to turn back time and stop the cities from getting worse, or even suburbia, but be thankful that we can find plenty of dark sky not very far away (for now).


And yes, I can still see the Milky Way with my naked eye from my observatory. My grandkids come up for Sharpcap Live Stacking shows, displayed on a screen in the observatory. They live in Sydney so it's important that they can see what is really up there.

[GTB_an_Owl (Geoff)]

https://www.lightpollutionmap.info/#...NpdHkiOjg1fQ==


geoff

[Crater101 (Warren)]

I had a reasonably decent night sky (Bortle 4) but I live in an area almost across from the local pub. A while back they decided to put in a new bright white sign out the front of the place, and I went from Bortle 4 to about 6 in a day.


I know how you feel, Leo.

[OzEclipse (Joe Cali)]

The Bortle rating of a sky in a dark location varies with sky transparency. I have very little light pollution on my property located within the triangle between Young, Grenfell and Cowra. When looking for a place, I didn't even want to be in a small rural town. I wanted a rural setting without having to manage weeds, fire over 20-100acres. It took some looking but I eventually found a 3/4 acre property, subdivided from farmland. There are just 6 houses in a 1km x 300m strip. I am on the end with 100 acres of grazing land on one side and at the back.

I can see tiny glows on the horizon from Cowra and Young and a glow from a large mine near Galong. I can also see a longer faint glow along the horizon to the east from Newcastle Sydney, & the Gong. But these are all on the horizons where I wouldn't normally be observing anyway.

The Bortle rating varies from 1 on the clearest most transparent nights to around a 3 or 4 at certain times of year, when the sky is full of crop pollen, or dust, and even worse when there is fire smoke in the air. On the best nights, I have seen the LMC outer arm spanning 6-7 degrees in total with the naked eye. Recently, new neighbours 50m away installed a lot of outdoor lighting after moving in. They have however, been quite cooperative about not leaving lights on unnecessarily. Friends with observatories around Murrumbateman and Yass bring their scopes out here for the really dark skies.

I have looked back at light pollution maps from 2012 to present and though light pollution is increasing slightly in the closest towns, their growth is not in my direction. Rather, land is being developed away from me. I expect to have to leave this property due to aging out rather than being forced out by light pollution.

For comparison, those who have been to Qld Astrofest (Duckadang) or SPSP at Wiruna, the skies are much worse from permanent light pollution from nearby cities. These event locations need to strike a compromise where the distance from the city provides a reasonably dark sky and convenient access to the cities that provide the majority of participants.

Joe