New Avex’s map : Light pollution of Europe

[laser_jock99]

Frédéric Tapissier has recently uploaded a new European set of light pollution maps. Might be useful if you're planning a vacation.

http://www.avex-asso.org/dossiers/wordpress/?page_id=2754

[JB80]

Thanks for that, now I have to remember how to overlay that in google earth.

[Beulah]

Wow, I knew the old classic avex map well enough to know that it looks like my location has moved from a dark blue zone to a cyan/green zone!

I would say that the skies have got worse in the five years I have observed on a regular basis (was always into stargazing but didn't get a telescope until more recently)

[pete_l]

I suppose if we really wanted to depress ourselves, we could overlay the light pollution map with a cloud cover map.

[crashtestdummy]

Hopefully its quicker than the old one that was maddeningly slow to resolve on zoom

[JB80]

I suppose if we really wanted to depress ourselves, we could overlay the light pollution map with a cloud cover map.

Oh dear.

[foundaplanet]

That is shocking. The sodium is close to being disturbing..

[swag72]

Thanks for that, now I have to remember how to overlay that in google earth.

Can you do that? I'm trying to flick between the 2 and it's a little tricky. An overlay would be great.

[springbok]

Thanks for the link, I think...........

More trips onto Dartmoor then

Plymouth seems to be geting worse. Even though I'm on the edge of the city

[JB80]

Can you do that? I'm trying to flick between the 2 and it's a little tricky. An overlay would be great.

Yep, I can't remember the original link I followed but here is one that might help.

http://www.iceinspac...=63,404,0,0,1,0

You need to download the file from the avex site and then open "image overlay" and go from there. The difficult bit is lining the coastlines up.

The thing is though I don't know how to remove the old map.

edit: http://www.google.com/earth/outreach/tutorials/earthoverlays.html

[Beulah]

Can you do that? I'm trying to flick between the 2 and it's a little tricky. An overlay would be great.

Yes you can. Click the link below to download the overlay file:

Google Earth files (need google earth)

classique.kml <= Classic view

Go to the folder you downloaded the file in, click it and Google Earth should boot up with the overlay already in place. (Provided Google Earth is already installed on your PC)

[StuartJPP]

I would love to know how many gigawatts of energy is wasted every year to make such pretty pictures for what can only be described as welcome lights for visiting extraterrestrials?

And they have the cheek to tell me to turn off my TV and not leave it on standby...

[Twiggles]

That is incredibly depressing..

[hunterknox]

The Avex maps are a fantastic piece of work and Frédéric should rightly be commended for them.

As I understand it the maps are derived from population data and various assumptions about how much light is produced by a population of a given size and how that light typically spreads out from the source. They are therefore models rather than snap shots. In my experience they do generally correlate well with ground-based light pollution readings but, as the website says, they can't really take account of a local factors such as the effects of local building illumination or things like the off-shore oil platforms which blight the views of many astronomers in north east Scotland.

I guess my point is that if you're dead set on book a holiday or moving house to somewhere with minimal light pollution then use the Avex maps as a guide but do make enquiries about local conditions too!

[JB80]

Yes you can. Click the link below to download the overlay file:

Google Earth files (need google earth)

classique.kml <= Classic view

Go to the folder you downloaded the file in, click it and Google Earth should boot up with the overlay already in place. (Provided Google Earth is already installed on your PC)

Or this... that is the easy way.

Can you still change the transparency after it's booted up?

[laser_jock99]

The Avex maps are a fantastic piece of work and Frédéric should rightly be commended for them.

As I understand it the maps are derived from population data and various assumptions about how much light is produced by a population of a given size and how that light typically spreads out from the source. They are therefore models rather than snap shots. In my experience they do generally correlate well with ground-based light pollution readings but, as the website says, they can't really take account of a local factors such as the effects of local building illumination or things like the off-shore oil platforms which blight the views of many astronomers in north east Scotland.

I guess my point is that if you're dead set on book a holiday or moving house to somewhere with minimal light pollution then use the Avex maps as a guide but do make enquiries about local conditions too!

I used the Avex maps during my last house hunt- it shows the hamlet as dim blue glow- even though there are no street lights here for 4-5 miles at least. What it won't show is stuff like annoyingly bright farm 'security' lights etc. This kind of thing should be checked out with a site visit. Still the Avex maps are a great pointer for searching out dark sky sites.

[SteveNickolls]

Thanks for this laser_jock99. I will first check my location's overlay colour on my old overlay before downloading this latest one. I am prepared to be shocked however! I have used the previous one when booking a holiday.

Best regards,

Steve

[SteveNickolls]

Update- yep our house has slipped into the magenta zone right next to the white overlay that is Nottingham city. I once found a property for sale on the isle of Vatersay: the skies there are as dark as an AA man's sock, but I wonder if the clouds ever dissapear there?

Onwards and upwards.

Steve

[Beulah]

Makes you wonder why we bother....

[JB80]

I've worked out what I wanted with the transparency.

Well I'm no better off than before, I'm still in the white which has expanded to the dark red that was around in places.

Like others I use the map for holidays and Belgium has gotten a lot worse, there is barely any blue left and no pockets of darker blue that there were in the old map.

More disturbingly the map of the area near Paris we are supposed to move to this year has deteriorated, I was reasonably confident of being able to get to a green area at least and that has been pushed further out.

[Jove]

If only County Mayo and Connemara could sort out their cloud problem.

[laser_jock99]

I once found a property for sale on the isle of Vatersay: the skies there are as dark as an AA man's sock, but I wonder if the clouds ever dissapear there?

Onwards and upwards.

Steve

Vattersay must be very dark- St Kilda is probably even darker.

[Beulah]

I would love to move to darker skies but the right things are not in place yet. For now it's a case of loading up the car and heading for the dark...

[ronin]

Like the information from the map but it never really looks right.

Is it a prediction of the expected light level from the location size and population?

[JamesF]

I understand the "classic" map, and the "sodium" one, but what is the "astrophoto" one?

James