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BBC on the LP bandwagon

George

By George
in The Astro Lounge

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tony69

tony69

Posted
Posted

this is on sky news

The United Kingdom's skies are still saturated with light pollution, with campaigners warning half the population cannot see many stars.

The latest annual star count survey by the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) and the Campaign for Dark Skies (CFDS) showed 53% of those taking part could see 10 stars or fewer within the major constellation of Orion.

Only 9% could see between 21 and 30 stars within the constellation and just 2% had really dark skies above them and were able to see 31 or more stars on a clear night earlier this year, the survey found.

The number of people living with severe light pollution had decreased only very slightly, a total of 1% in 2011, the online survey found.

16206366.jpg Night lights in Britain Pic: Paolo Nespoli/ESA

Peter Dean, who has been stargazing for more than 25 years, told Sky News: "Over time the skies have been becoming increasingly lighter.

"It has become increasingly difficult to see the stars in their full glory, you have to go a long way away in far flung areas to see them."

Tim Murphy, chairman of CPRE Surrey, said there are many reasons we should change the situation.

"It is important to understand the impact of inappropriate lighting on our wildlife.

"It changes fundamentally their patterns of life and from a human point of view too much lighting can affect people's sleep patterns and so on."

Fixing light pollution comes at a cost. In one year alone, local authorities spend £500m on street lighting.

In Surrey, 88,000 so-called "smart lamps" are being introduced. They can be dipped to cut pollution while maintaining safety.

Councillor John Furey said: "The orange street light is actually quite murky but this one is clear and provides visibility like never before and the ability to control it."

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decomo50

decomo50

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I live in the Irish Midlands - Yet not totally free from light pollution. When i have discussed issue with people around my little village, i generally get that Homer Simpson look...bewilderment! When see photos / images like the one above showing the land saturated with light I also think, most of what I see is wasted energy (thats why its visible - leaking into the night sky) Perhaps in the future we will see less light pollution but not because it is bad for our wild life or our astronomy - but because we cannot afford the energy costs....money

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klytus

klytus

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Just read the news feed on this story on Sky News, nice to see the idiots and mis-imformed are making the usual ridiculous comments like "get a bigger telescope", "If you want to use a telescope, move to the country. The lights in our towns and cities will not be turning down for you."

Idiotic brain-dead cretins! :)

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laser_jock99

laser_jock99

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The latest annual star count survey by the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) and the Campaign for Dark Skies (CFDS) showed 53% of those taking part could see 10 stars or fewer within the major constellation of Orion.

Only 9% could see between 21 and 30 stars within the constellation and just 2% had really dark skies above them and were able to see 31 or more stars on a clear night earlier this year, the survey found.

The number of people living with severe light pollution had decreased only very slightly, a total of 1% in 2011, the online survey found.

."

I found my lonely little purple star on the 2012 survey map.

CPRE2012LightPollution.jpg

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stevetynant

stevetynant

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It was on Radio 4 this morning as I drove to work - at least its a problem being recognised - strange that some Councils are not taking more positive action really considering the savings that can be made.

On a more positive note - how lucky are the Celts from an astronomical viewpoint looking at that LP map above.

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decomo50

decomo50

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Yes we celts are not as bad as some of those hot spots on the LP map, the west of Ireland and Highlands of Scotland are reasonably good so I can't complain...but....light trespass is a problem even for me. Living on the edge of a small village has its benifits, but recent years has seen a surge in Halogen security lights......BTW someone told me if you point your 100mw laser pen at the sensor on top of the street light it will fool it into turning off? probably an urban myth?

name and location withheld

signed

very disturbed

Co Laois

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Slim

Slim

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Share this link with anyone you can.

TheyWorkForYou: Hansard and Official Reports for the UK Parliament, Scottish Parliament, and Northern Ireland Assembly - done right

Stick in your postcode and it tells you who your MP is. There is then a link to write them a letter through a web form. It couldn't be easier, you don't even have to post a letter #darkskies

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laser_jock99

laser_jock99

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BTW someone told me if you point your 100mw laser pen at the sensor on top of the street light it will fool it into turning off? probably an urban myth?

100mW!!! A 5mW green laser will do the trick. Only trouble is the source of the green beam can easily be seen. I'm convinced the light sensitive diode could easily switched with an an invisible 850nm infra red laser too.

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RikM

RikM

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Some councils are making an attempt, but the weight of the general population is still in favour of lighting and the brighter the better. Gloucester council are planning to to switch some lights in Quedgeley, where I live, to part night lighting and have already dimmed many others, but it is only 300 out of 1,700 lights in the area. At least it's a step in the right direction and they are not going to introduce LEDs as an alternative.

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JamesF

JamesF

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Some councils are making an attempt, but the weight of the general population is still in favour of lighting and the brighter the better. Gloucester council are planning to to switch some lights in Quedgeley, where I live, to part night lighting and have already dimmed many others, but it is only 300 out of 1,700 lights in the area. At least it's a step in the right direction and they are not going to introduce LEDs as an alternative.

I know of Quedgeley for some reason I can't quite put my finger on. Does it have a converted chapel that on occasion has lots of motorbikes parked outside?

James

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RikM

RikM

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I know of Quedgeley for some reason I can't quite put my finger on. Does it have a converted chapel that on occasion has lots of motorbikes parked outside?

James

Not that I know of, but there are a couple of guys with tasty trikes in the area so I wouldn't be surprised.

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spaceboy

spaceboy

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I don't think any kind of publicity is going to help me. The skies were cloudy last night here anyway but at 21:30 the flood lights were still on at the local schools astro turf. Why are people playing football at almost 22:00 at night :D Each to their own I guess but those lights make it impossible tosee any sky below 40' in that direction and even less if there is a light haze. As it is a school I'm guessing the council gave the OK for how the pitch is lit so what chance do I have. It took me over 18 months to get something done about a single st light which is lighting up my property. I just don't think there is enough people out there bothered by by light pollution. Given how many cloudy nights we get in the UK it's no wonder. I'm sure if we did have less cloud and better control of LP there would be a great many more people looking at the heavens but I doubt many would take up astronomy anyway through fear of getting mugged & beaten by hoodies as there's no St lights scaring them away.:(

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