Light pollution question

[Nugeorge (George)]

Hi all,

Basically my question is, how much does light influence your scope viewing? Specifically I wanted to know how much does viewing DSO from a city area affect the viewing. Will you still be able to see the DSO however it will just be fairly faint, or does it make it difficult to even spot the DSO altogether?

Thanks in advance.

[Barrykgerdes]

Hi George
Light polution like we get in the city reduces the contrast of the sky view by raising the level of background illumination (sky glow). This has the apparent effect of pushing the magnitude levels of the objects higher and making them appear much dimmer although there is no change in the actual brightness.

A large telescope will still show the DSO's at their correct level but they won't stand out so well because of the background skyglow.

Barry

[Robh (Rob)]

Hi George,

Have a look at this ...http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bortle_Dark-Sky_Scale

Regards, Rob