Lights out - WHOO-HOO!!!

[ollypenrice]

It's happened! The mayor of the mighty city of Etoile St Cyrice (28 inhabitants) where I live has decided to switch off the five street lights that glimmered to the north of our observing sites, not that you could see them directly. So a very dark site indeed has just got darker. As the lights were to our North they had little effect but I will have another go at the Integrated Flux Nebula early next year to see what difference it makes. The SQMs usually gave the zenith about 21.6 and I can't really see that improving but one or two northern targets might benefit.

Anyway, it is most certainly A Good Thing!

Olly

[RikM]

Congratulations Olly. Could you ask him to have a word with the Mayor of Gloucester?

[Charon]

I have one light in the lane/road 150m away and that is so dim it is a waste of time!!

[red dwalf]

i have 4 lights on the corner where i live alone, a tempting target with the airifle

[ollypenrice]

i have 4 lights on the corner where i live alone, a tempting target with the airifle

Such thoughts are hard to avoid. One neighbour did me a favour by sacrificing his car in order to demolish a light. He let it roll off its handbrake and, glory be, the tracks of the runaway neatly straddled the place where the light used to be. WHAT a shame!

Olly

[red dwalf]

i wish someone would do that round here, it`s like blackpool L.O.L might wait for a foggy night a get ladders out and some black paint, got to do something

[Jiggy 67]

Olly, I take it the mayor is up for election again!!....probably needs every vote he can muster!!

[Beulah]

LOL, I remember you telling us about your neighbour's selfless act.

Glad to read of the good news - I have GOT to have a holiday down there sometime.

I look forward to seeing what effect it has on your astro photography.

[saturn4me]

It's happened! The mayor of the mighty city of Etoile St Cyrice (28 inhabitants) where I live has decided to switch off the five street lights that glimmered to the north of our observing sites, not that you could see them directly. So a very dark site indeed has just got darker. As the lights were to our North they had little effect but I will have another go at the Integrated Flux Nebula early next year to see what difference it makes. The SQMs usually gave the zenith about 21.6 and I can't really see that improving but one or two northern targets might benefit.

Anyway, it is most certainly A Good Thing!

Olly

You lucky so and so! I think i might consider increasing your population to 29!!

[Mike Hawtin]

You jammy devil Olly,

Cyprus recently almost totally blew up it major power station due to inadequately stored munitions at an adjacent military base and was forced to bring it emergency power generation equipment from overseas yet still carried on lighting up the countryside with thousands of street(ha ha)lights even during a fortnight of rolling power cuts!!

Monty Python lives and thrives in Cyprus!

Mike H

[laser_jock99]

My nearest village (Staylittle) 3 miles away has about 5 lamps which are fairly pointless. I doubt I could convince the villagers to get them switched off though. Other than rubbish collection once a fortnight it's the the only other service they get for £1400 a a year Council Tax......

Our efforts would be better targeted on the larger towns.

[nicnac]

a nation wide 1 in 3 removal of street lights is what we need, not many people look up for a reason, they cant see owt but orange.

olly, you lucky so and so

[russ.will]

It's happened! The mayor of the mighty city of Etoile St Cyrice (28 inhabitants) where I live has decided to switch off the five street lights that glimmered to the north of our observing sites, not that you could see them directly. So a very dark site indeed has just got darker. As the lights were to our North they had little effect but I will have another go at the Integrated Flux Nebula early next year to see what difference it makes. The SQMs usually gave the zenith about 21.6 and I can't really see that improving but one or two northern targets might benefit.

Anyway, it is most certainly A Good Thing!

Olly

Lets be honest - You're just rubbing our noses in it, aren't you?

Russell

[saturn10]

Dark is great but cloudy no!

[Si W]

I wonder if the mayor of Manchester is reading this theard would he be so nice as to turn off the 56000 street light , and 6,150 assorted illuminated signs and bollards .

Please

[Tim]

That's good news

The city north of me (Coventry) has recently upgraded most of its streetlights to newer shielded ones. The sky is definitely less orange now, but its a long way from Les Granges!

[Veracocha]

Without light polution I would not have experienced:

SGL6

Cumbria 2,3,4

Galloway 3

PSP4

Bham Astro

Redditch Astro and various other star partiesvthis year alone.

It's got something going for it!

[glowjet]

My goodness Olly times must be desperate in your neck of the woods, did the Mayor give any reason or was he just doing his bit for the French economy

John.

[661-pete]

Nice one! Now, it would be a real dream if I could come up with a convincing reason for persuading M le Maire at our own astro outpost (slightly bigger than yours - about 140 inhabitants but that includes all the outlying farms) to do likewise. But I can't ask for that much!

Already he has done me a big favour by giving me a means to switch off some floodlights on the village church, when I have need. And he's really a very decent and accommodating chap - despite the fact that he speaks no English and I can barely follow his rapid-fire French! And we're hardly ever in the village - only about three or four visits a year.

So I see myself continuing to use our house as a screen as I do at present.