Ep. 153: Dark Skies

Earth at night

If you live in a city, it's possible that you've never seen the Milky Way with your own eyes. To really appreciate everything the night skies have to offer, you've got to get out of the city, away from the lights, where the skies are really dark. But those places are getting harder and harder to find. Let's talk about what you can do to find dark skies, fight to make the skies darker, and how to make the most of wherever you live.

Ep. 153: Dark Skies

• International Dark Sky Association
• Dark Skies Awareness for IYA
• Sky & Telescopes Dark Skies resources
• Dark Sky Society
• GLOBE at Night
• The Great World Wide Star Count
• Dark Sky sites in the US and Canada
• Clear Dark Sky: The same people who bring you the "Clear Sky Clock" also have data on local light pollution, also available as high-resolution maps of light pollution levels. A map for each continent is available for download as separate files.
• A Dark Adapted Eye -- Astroblog
• How to easily dark adapt your laptop screen and flashlights –aperture fever
• DarkAdapted software
• Good Neighbor Outdoor lighting — Sky & Telescope
• Examples of good outdoor lighting — Skykeepers
• Sky quality meter

1. evirus Says:
   October 1st, 2009 at 8:52 pm

   In the anime "Macross Zero" the priestess of a primitive society regards a man's attempt to fix a generator which used to power lights across the island, as an attempt to steal away the stars.

   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmKtixeIM34
   running from 1:20 to 2:28

2. Sticks Says:
   October 5th, 2009 at 10:00 am

   This is all very well for you across the pond, but what about us in the UK where we are a crowded little island.

3. Dan Says:
   October 5th, 2009 at 12:21 pm

   Here's a simple test to check if your outdoor lighting is good for dark skies. Check if you can see the lightbulb from outside the area you intended to illuminate. If you can't, you've done it right.

4. Steven Says:
   October 8th, 2009 at 5:55 am

   I'm curious if anyone knows what positive effect – if any – an observatory building would have on diminishing the effects of light pollution in a suburban area that is heavily lighted.

   Also wondering if the style of observatory – a slit vs the whole roof coming off – or the height above ground (i.e.. a single story height structure vs a two story height structure) would have an impact.

5. Conway Says:
   October 16th, 2009 at 2:23 am

   We still have plenty of open dark space at night down here in Australia… The view is a true wonder to behold if you ever make your way out the the outback on a clear night..

6. mikekoz68 Says:
   November 23rd, 2009 at 11:45 am

   Just went to a presentation by Terrence Dickinson a leading Canadian astronomer and while he said Australia is good, the best in the world is in Chile. Along with the VLT, Chile also boasts an outdoor obseratory open to the public in a climate where it NEVER rains

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