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Coming to your local sky soon maybe? Apparently this event was the result of a malfunction in a “green” house blackout blind system. But shouldn’t the rules be no blinds then don’t switch on the lights? These vertical farms are likely to be increasingly common in future. The story comes via contributors on the Dark Sky International forum.
https://www.kwtx.com/2023/12/04/researchers-weigh-pink-glow-sky-coming-lettuce-farm-temple/Here is what looks like a useful publication from the EU office of the Director General for the Environment: https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/5727bc7c-843c-11ee-99ba-01aa75ed71a1/language-en/format-PDF/source-296551457
I have only skimmed it so far.https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20231123-the-last-places-on-earth-to-see-truly-dark-starry-nights
These amazing images by Jordi Busqué illustrate what dark sky campaigners are working for. Very few people will experience these conditions today.
With the rise of satellite constellations, will it be possible in future to make similar images, for instance those made near dusk and dawn?This is a very interesting question Robin and one that needs investigation. I suspect that there will be scientific reports on this subject somewhere,
The 16th European Symposium for the protection of the night sky has been announced. See https://www.astro.rug.nl/eurodark/
Eurodark 2024 will be in Holland and the conference has been dedicated to Wim Schmidt and Bob Mizon.The publication last week of a thought provoking paper, by John C. Barentine, Stefan Wallner and Miroslav Kocifa, on the subject of monitoring night sky brightness (NSB) prompts a few questions:
Does your local observatory monitor night sky brightness routinely, using a SQM or other instruments and protocols?
Do you share your observations with the scientific community and if so how?
Should CfDS be involved in collating NSB observations of BAA members? A programme to do this was initiated but has stalled. Potentially, it could restart if sufficient volunteers take an interest.The paper raises the issue of standardised NSB monitoring protocols. Here is a link. https://academic.oup.com/mnras/advance-article/doi/10.1093/mnras/stad3538/7425637
I would add that future satellite based methods of NSB monitoring are highly likely to be degraded because of changes in the night sky caused by massive deployment of communications satellites.This is a thought-provoking article, from the ‘Big Think’ website, reiterating concerns about satellite and LED proliferation. For example, “as of 15th November 2023…there are some ~9000 active satellites, with Starlink making up more than 5000 of them and putting humanity at the greatest risk yet …” The article goes on to describe two potential technological work arounds for astronomical imaging.
But what about star gazing? I worry that this could soon become something that humans used to do. Visual observers should be aware that skies in some places are brightening by 10% a year, reportedly. This is caused by LED intensification and uncontrolled satellite proliferation. Even with 2% per year expansion in sky glow domes, compounding means that we have a very short time, perhaps just a decade, before looking up at the sky at night becomes not worth the effort.
We may be able to use electronically enhanced instruments to see the sky in near real time, but this is an experience mediated by technology and the means to pay for it. It is not an authentic human experience. Does that matter? With the prospect of satellite driven light pollution dominating our skies will the notion of dark sky reserves become redundant.
Some things to ponder if you are out this weekend hoping to see a Leonid.
https://bigthink.com/starts-with-a-bang/technology-save-astronomy-light-pollution/This is a first rate Technical Advice Note for good lighting practices, which has been produced by Jack Ellerby and the team at Friends of the Lake District. Many congratulations to all involved.
Jack writes that it covers Cumbria, the Yorkshire Dales National Park and the whole of the Arnside and Silverdale AONB – see also
https://www.friendsofthelakedistrict.org.uk/lighting-policyBob Mizon wrote a book on this topic called Finding a Million Star Hotel. It was published in 2016 so is a little out of date now. There’s an e-book version version available via the publisher and usual sources.
https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-319-33855-2
It is some time since I read it so cannot comment on its usefulness for your purposes. But I do remember that it was somewhat of a labour of love to write.
This is a different approach to the dark sky issue.
This item was in the Guardian this week.
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2023/oct/31/everything-from-our-sleep-to-our-hormones-relies-on-the-dark-so-why-are-we-so-intent-on-destroying-itThere is a book by author Jacqueline Yallop, called Into the Dark, out soon (which I have pre-ordered)
https://iconbooks.com/ib-title/into-the-dark/
Many of the news items and links I post have originally been found by Dr John Barentine, longtime Dark Sky International supporter and expert on dark sky issues. Here’s one he found that shows just how much research is being done on the effects of artificial light on life.
A couple of articles from Nature.
This is a good example of a country taking action https://www.space.com/chile-new-standards-fight-light-pollution .
Are you suffering from noctalgia? I suspect that I may be – how do I get tested? See https://www.space.com/light-pollution-loss-dark-skies-noctalgia . One important point made in the article, well put by author Paul Sutter, is “We are losing a rich tradition of human cultural knowledge; cultures around the world and throughout history have used the sky as a springboard for the imagination, painting heroes, monsters and myths in the constellations.”This is a rather sad story, particularly if (like me) you are a nature lover. Fortunately, as the article points out, this event was a rarity. https://news.sky.com/story/chicago-1000-birds-die-in-one-night-after-smashing-into-conference-hall-windows-12979409
A couple of mental health related articles – https://www.nature.com/articles/s44220-023-00135-8?fbclid=IwAR07ItwUkNex3ttfK4Nx5iKPhziplTM3Q7YaL4sIYb9QtZ3ije9KFinhyFI – https://www.wellandgood.com/star-bathing/ I suspect amateur astronomers are too busy with their observations to do much star bathing.
This article is both intriguing and worrying. I’d like to see more research on this. https://www.livescience.com/space/space-exploration/falling-metal-space-junk-is-changing-earths-upper-atmosphere-in-ways-we-dont-fully-understand
This article is specifically about Starlink https://arstechnica.com/space/2023/10/next-year-spacex-aims-to-average-one-launch-every-2-5-days/
This is an interesting article from Sky and Telescope on satellite status and the comments are worth reading. https://skyandtelescope.org/astronomy-news/a-new-hope-taming-the-satellite-swarm-in-our-skies/
BAA members may be interested to learn that there’s an EU legislation initiative on space activities and a survey is being conducted of interested parties. This is in preparation for an “EU Space Law”. The CfDS would like to submit a response, but time is relatively short. We (CfDS) very much welcome BAA member’s views. See https://ec.europa.eu/eusurvey/runner/EUSLsurvey .
Dark Skies and Satellites are being thought about in Brussels, see this item from Parliament Magazine https://www.theparliamentmagazine.eu/news/article/good-heavens .The launch of the first satellites planned as part of the Kuiper swarm has happened. It was accompanied with this “everything you need to know” publication. https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/innovation-at-amazon/what-is-amazon-project-kuiper
What I’d like to know more about is the environmental impact and effects on amateur astronomers. This recent article from New Scientist gives some startling predictions – https://www.newscientist.com/article/2394949-starlink-carbon-footprint-up-to-30-times-size-of-land-based-internet/ (Sorry, New Scientist is behind a paywall). Apparently, the carbon footprint could be between 31 and 91 times greater per internet subscriber than conventional landline based systems, according to research conducted at George Mason University, Virginia. But this could change depending upon take up of the service and use of more suitable launchers.
We must hope that the methods being tested to mitigate nuisance to astronomers prove successful.Another of the recent groups on the UK anti-light pollution scene is DarkSky UK. This group is the U.K. chapter of Dark Skies International (DSI), which is the new name of the International Dark Sky Association (IDA). It is always difficult to rebrand an organisation and I suspect that we will continue to refer to it as the IDA for a long while.
Three or four CfDS committee members are also in DSI, including myself. CfDS and DSI/ IDA have a long history of collaboration and friendship going back decades. There are several advantages to this international network for furthering dark skies campaigns such as size, resources, experience and membership structure. Their Slack forums, training sessions and on-line meetings are a great way of engaging with and inspiring supporters. One downside is that it costs a fixed donation to be a member. But that is more or less inevitable in an effective campaigning charity with paid staff and fixed organisational costs. The U.K. branch of DSI can be found at https://darksky.uk .
The parent international organisation can be found at https://darksky.org .BAA members may be interested in the work of the U.K. Dark Sky Partnership (UKDSP). This is an informal organisation at the moment and has been going for about two years. Bob Mizon was an early supporter and enthusiastic about its potential for a united approach to working with parliament. The CfDS believes this organisation is currently the best opportunity to achieving better planning and other legislation aimed at reducing light pollution. It represents many people in professional, voluntary and local communities, so is not quite as easy to ignore as a group of amateur astronomers. BAA CfDS has contributed to funding and organisation, including the participation of the UKDSP in the Local Government Association exhibition event in July.
Please have a look at its website https://ukdarkskies.org.uk
