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It isn’t until you reach the truly isolated parts of the UK or wilder and woolier parts of the world that you realise just how hard it is to see our stars at night. Some interesting websites and resources are linked to at the end of this page.
The biggest obstacles are:
- Bad weather (no surprise there!)
- Atmospheric pollution (we are all contributing to that)
- Light pollution (domestic security lamps, car lights, buildings, and traffic can road/motorway lights)
Bad weather: Enough said!
Pollution: This is worse when there is high pressure weather system sitting over the UK because the pollution is held down like a blanket over the ground. This is why you can often see a layer of yellow-brown air hanging over towns and cities. Urban areas that sit in a basin collect pollutants even more - London and SanFranciso are examples. The effects get even worse in hot weather because the chemicals interact with the air.
Light Pollution
- Main roads: We use bright lights along our roads that do three bad things - firstly, they often shine out sideways and upwards where there are no cars! secondly, brighter lights encourage faster driving because they give a sense of safety - unless you are a pedestrian or cyclist dodging fast cars; and finally, these lights are permanently on whether or not there are any cars about. This is not going change fast because it is not in the interest of highways authorities and councils to change the habit of a lifetime, but what a waste!
- Car lights: You can’t have it both ways. If there is an argument for lower level of permanent lighting along roads, car drivers will want to have the best lights they can on their cars to illuminate the road ahead.
- Domestic Security lights: Two things we can do as good neighbours and to improve security: Firstly, security lights should be shaded and pointed only to the ground - all too often they also point horizontally and upwards. This can be painful for neighbours. Secondly, very bright lights create very dark shadows to the eye, making it more difficult to spot things that lower levels of light or several lower wattage lights would reveal. Better still, make sure security lights are activated by passive infra red detectors rather than leave them on all night.
There have been several campaigns over the years and some useful websites that can help you decide what is right for your own circumstances. Try the following:
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