Now I understand how light polluted my skies are...

[Mr Bergman]

Hi folks! 

I went on a roadtrip on Southern NZ in January, and realized how light polluted our skies really are. I live in Sweden and my location is said to be fairly unpolluted. BUT, after taking this shot, I realize how easy and fun astrophotography should be, hadn´t it been for all lightpollution. 

This image is a single 60-ish second 85mm exposure on a tripod with a Canon 7d. Taken in a small village near Abel Tasman National Park. Phuh! 

And from what I heard, Lake Tekapo is even better. 

I wish I had bought and brought an Astrotrac...

Best regards, 

Erik

[robbie c]

Fantastic image Erik just goes to show what you can get when you get dark skies it must have been amazing to see, is that an iridium flare you caught as well

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Mr Bergman]

Fantastic image Erik just goes to show what you can get when you get dark skies it must have been amazing to see, is that an iridium flare you caught as well Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Thx Robbie! Yes it was fantastic, hope to get back some day with proper gear. 

[Pete Presland]

WOW thats pretty amazing for a single sub.

[Mr Bergman]

WOW thats pretty amazing for a single sub.

That´s what I though too:-) Unmodded camera and all....

[ollypenrice]

Light pollution is a human catastrophe. I would find it very hard indeed to live under a sky that wasn't dark, just as I would find it hard to live under water or amongst deafening machinery.

Olly

[Beulah]

During a brief spell supporting a family member at Birmingham Children's Hospital (Centre of the city), having a sallow-grey, sickly twilight sky above my head at night-time instead of diamonds-on-dark-velvet, I can understand what you referring to, Olly.  

[Mr Bergman]

Light pollution is a human catastrophe. I would find it very hard indeed to live under a sky that wasn't dark, just as I would find it hard to live under water or amongst deafening machinery.

Olly

Strongly agree with you Olly. Unfortunately very few people realize this is a problem. According to International Dark Sky association the light pollution grows at a rate of 4% every year, which is more than the population. Except for being an ugly reminder of the side effects of industrialization and a waste of energy, it also disturbs our internal clocks aka circadian rythms and ecosystems around the world. Regarding the circadian rythm there might be a link between several sicknesses and being disturbed via artificial light.

I made a dive into this subject and found interesting links for those of you interested.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Dark-Sky_Association

http://www.darksky.org/about-us

/Erik

[pyrasanth]

What an amazing picture. I was on holiday last year about 4 miles away from Goon Hilly in the West Country. We had one amazing clear night. I could see the whole Milky way from Horizon to Horizon & the stars numbered in the thousands- black diamonds on a vellum sheet. I went back to my home city of Birmingham & wept inside at the savage destruction of what God has given us- your right its a tragedy to behold & it's not going to get better. 

[hjw]

That, my dear friend, is eta Carina and it is also one of the brightest parts of the southern sky. While light pollution is a curse, no doubt, the region between eta Carina and the Sagittarius constellation is also much brighter than any part of the Milky Way that you can see from northern Europe. It's my favorite nebula for sure.

[Mr Bergman]

That, my dear friend, is eta Carina and it is also one of the brightest parts of the southern sky. While light pollution is a curse, no doubt, the region between eta Carina and the Sagittarius constellation is also much brighter than any part of the Milky Way that you can see from northern Europe. It's my favorite nebula for sure.

hjw, thanks. Yes it´s a beautiful nebula. 

What an amazing picture. I was on holiday last year about 4 miles away from Goon Hilly in the West Country. We had one amazing clear night. I could see the whole Milky way from Horizon to Horizon & the stars numbered in the thousands- black diamonds on a vellum sheet. I went back to my home city of Birmingham & wept inside at the savage destruction of what God has given us- your right its a tragedy to behold & it's not going to get better. 

I know what you mean....after a few more years the sky will be a blanket of yellow reflections..