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I LOVE LIGHT POLLUTION,for one reason...


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Recently I have been chasing DSO with a small scope & trying to get to dark skies as much as possible & hey this is great......if you know where to look for stuff-there is an overwhelming amount of stars in a dark sky :shocked: .So right now I'm back to learning constellations & key object locator stars.The other night I found the star I needed to find some stuff around it-from home(light polluted) and took off 45km to the dark site.When I stepped out of the truck,I was amazed,in awe of the sky,this is gonna be great.....Anyway I never found my star-Aldermin & the things around it.

So.....I LOVE LIGHT POLLUTION!For identifying constellations that is.Obviously not too much pollution,but from here it eliminates a lot of distraction from the process.And so last night I went out & found the "House"!(Cepheus) & I'm gonna do this again & again until I can find it under the Milky Way :smiley:.What I do sometimes is set up early(light out),find my constellation,then the key star(s) to locate DSO & then point the scope at the spot & WAIT till its dark enough to see the object.....Some old hands might be chuckling right now at this! But were makin' progress...... :headbang:

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I can see the logic - but wouldn't go quite as far to say I like light pollution.

Actually I'm against light pollution,I was just trying to say that even under bad skies people can still get out and do some learning,instead of just being frustrated.I enjoy learning the constellations & star gazing,even from a light sky-we just have to do the best we can,with what we have.I have found it easier to find the constellations either earlier in the evening or from my light polluted yard-but it is not so bad that they are not visible to see.I hope my title of the post was not taken seriously or in a bad way.....
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Right I can see the logic somewhat, same here really, the key constellations are clear and distinguishable, because that is simply put, all that is visible. Light pollution is tolerable when looking for targets high up (in a heratic sought of way).

At a dark location it takes a bit of time to form a structured picture in your minds eye, amongst the myriad of stars. It is easier to acclimatise your senses, if you arrive early enough to experience the sky gradually darken, so picking out the brighter stars first. I also will use a planisphere, especially if I have not been out observing for a while.

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I saw the Milky Way from a fairly dark site last week. I have just come in from my light polluted garden and I swear that I can see a lane of dust in the sky between the Summer Triangle (although that is all because the rest of the sky is an orange glow rather than a black). It may not be the light that is the problem, just the perception of what is being seen.

If we didn't have light pollution, we could not appreciate the nights when it was particularly clear or the times when we could get away to proper dark skies. I am sure that if I had tried to learn the sky from a dark place, I would have been completely overwhelmed and given up a long time ago!

Michael

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I can see the OP's point. I went to Ollies place couple of years ago (France)......and there were far too many stars!!!! :confused: :confused: Without him I wouldn't have found anything.....however, I would much prefer his problem to mine....too much light pollution :mad: :mad:

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Thinking again it is possible I may have overreacted slightly

I am sure it read something different earlier this evening that was more amusing to me :D. Anyway, the way I saw it was as if it was meant in a humorous way, nothing to get offended about if someone had posted that to me as for the topic. I took the that in a humorous way as well. Learning identifying stars under LP skies may be easier, kind of ironic I guess, seeing we all love dark skies :smiley:

Don't see any problems here to get excited about.

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Yeah, I actually agree with you here, for newbies at least. When I first started out it was much easier to learn my way around the sky from a moderate LP area. However, the attraction soon wears off and besides, with a little bit of practice, you find your way around just as well in a proper dark site :)

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Try watching the sky as soon as it starts to get dark. As darkness approaches you'll see more and more stars starting with only a few easily identifiable bright ones. Suddenly you'll get used to the large number of stars in a dark sky and you'll already be familiar with the brighter ones :)

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the other thing about LP is that it creates great appreciation of dark skies when you get the chance. you also have to work harder for your rewards and then can find things more easily at darker sites (eventually). the dumbbell is just visible at home in my 9x50 finder most nights, from a dark site, it's incredibly bright in the finder in comparison.

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If the plethora of stars at a dark site is too confusing then try wearing dark glasses while looking at the sky.

It's true that the constellations can look confusing, but all those extra stars (plus a good map) make it far, far easier to get the scope close to the intended target. And once you look through the eyepiece you can actually see the darned thing.

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Have had the same problem, really dark sky, cannot locate a thing - except eventually The Plough and that is because it sits out of the Milky Way. Cassiopeia is just about impossible to find. Forget Cygnus not a chance. How they made patterns with no light pollution I have no idea.

All that time to get really dark place then "Where is everything?"

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If any post deserves to get a person banned this is it BURN THE HERETIC

Yes, ok burn him so long as you take a spectrum to analyse his chemical make up from his emission and absorption lines. :p

Oh, and don't forget the fire will cause light pollution itself so we might have to burn you too. :p

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