UK Light pollution is decreasing...

[badhex]

The semi rural village where I grew up near Chesterfield has definitely become quite a lot worse in the last few years. It always had the M1 running through it, but after they built Junction 29a they turned much of the old pit yards (two pits nearby, one in the village itself and one about 5 mins drive away) and related brownfield sites into commercial parks and distribution centres. Great for the economy of the area, many jobs created etc., but huge areas are now lit up all night 😕

[Petrol]

I stopped imaging 10 years ago from a bortle 4 area. I've started up again now I've retired and the sky quality has definately deteriorated. I could just about make out the milky way on a good night. Not anymore.
A couple of years ago I visited some friends in Texas. They took me to Big Bend National Park and the McDonald Observatiry. Both locations were world class skies. The milky way is mesmerizing when you see it in it's true glory.  I find it sad that the world is trying to combat climate change yet we live in a culture that requires unnecessary street lighting.
So sad.

[ScouseSpaceCadet]

13 hours ago, Shimrod said:

There's a huge logistics park at Knowsley (on the right as you drive down the M57 to Switch Island) which turns the whole sky white. No one who lives in that area will be doing visual astronomy - I'm not sure you'd even see the full moon!

This winter I popped my head out of my loft office Velux window for something or other, looked left and could see the white glow eminating from that park. I'm maybe 4 miles away. Seeing it from slightly higher up really highlighted how intense those lights are. A huge waste of energy. 🙄

 

Edited May 18, 2022 by ScouseSpaceCadet

[wookie1965]

Same here built a big housing estate at the back of me lights everywhere and put new LED lighting up. This is what they put on a lamp when I asked to have it shielded like a chocolate ashtray.  Next one through the bedroom window, I have had to get blackout blinds fitted.

Edited May 18, 2022 by wookie1965

[ScouseSpaceCadet]

35 minutes ago, wookie1965 said:

Same here built a big housing estate at the back of me lights everywhere and put new LED lighting up. This is what they put on a lamp when I asked to have it shielded like a chocolate ashtray.  Next one through the bedroom window, I have had to get blackout blinds fitted.

So LP has become worse for you too? 🙄

The shield LCC fiited to my offensive lamp covers approx. 90%.. Unlucky for you. ☹️

 

[wookie1965]

7 minutes ago, ScouseSpaceCadet said:

So LP has become worse for you too? 🙄

The shield LCC fiited to my offensive lamp covers approx. 90%.. Unlucky for you. ☹️

 

Well I thought they would of done the same here but got that piece of junk. That is my South. 

[DaveL59]

where I am it seems the LED street light opposite side of the road is a bit dimmer as night progresses. Dunno if that was intentional or just the unit aging but it was very bright before. Overall tho I'd say skies around here are more grey this past couple years compared to the nice darkness when I first moved here in 2016. Of course the brexit stuff that's been done on the major roads to Dover and lorry park etc haven't helped and there was a noticeable change to grey toward the SE/S during/since that was all done.

[Mognet]

I'm sure my skies have got worse in the last couple of years, mostly since neighbouring towns started installing LED lighting. The view south now has a constant haze that hides all but the brightest stars below 30 degrees

I'm going to have to start making regular trips to the local dark sky sites as doing anything from home is becoming difficult

[Mr Spock]

[Franklin]

As a kid back in the early 80's when I first got into all of this, I remember following the arc of the handle of the Plough down to Arcturus and Arcturus shone like a beacon. To the east, the summer triangle was rising with Vega, Deneb and Altair all shining brightly. In the middle was Hercules, prominent and obvious, looking up from the middle to the top on the right, a faint fuzzy patch. M13 seen with my 12 year old eyes, I still remember that. 42 years later and I've just been out tonight, seen the ISS passover around 10.25pm with my other half and then sat back in a recliner with a pair of 20x80's and waited for it to get dark. I waited and waited and waited some more, no it's never going to get dark, the skies were definitely darker back then. Arcturus looked like a 2nd mag star and I had difficulty making out the remaining shape of Bootes. Vega didn't shine with it's previous splendour and the Milkyway running through Cygnus was non-existent. I did split epsilon Lyrae with the 20x80's but it was only a double, M57 was just wishful thinking and M27 invisible as well. Turning to Hercules M13 was still there in the big bins, but a shadow of it's former self. Light pollution is everywhere and increasing. Thank the lord for the moon, the planets, double stars and star-clusters. Can't see anything else from here 😭.

[DaveS]

I remember when the milky way was visible from my house in west London, Acton about 8 miles from the centre. It wasn't bright, but definitely there. Certainly all the main stars of UMi were clearly visible.

This was before the obsession with turning night into day  .

[Dave scutt]

I live in the countryside the problem I have with light pollution is when the farmers leave the lights on because the cows are scared of the dark 🤣

[Mognet]

1 hour ago, Dave scutt said:

because the cows are scared of the dark

Is this a common problem round your way, or were the cows I lived near in rural Suffolk equipped with night vision? 🤨🤣

[Dave scutt]

35 minutes ago, Mognet said:

Is this a common problem round your way, or were the cows I lived near in rural Suffolk equipped with night vision? 🤨🤣

Only the goats have night vision round here