Somebody killed all my stars.

fuzzybuddy

fuzzybuddy

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Location
The Sticks, Northeast PA.
When I moved to Northeastern PA. 30 years ago, it was way in the sticks. After 10 PM, you'd have to drive 15-20 miles away to get gas. There was nothing open. I used to sit on my deck at night and see all the stars and the jets flying east to NYC or Philly. Over the years the big box stores opened and huge 24 hr. gas station plazas opened. So, now, even a 1 AM, it looks like dawn. The stars are gone, can't see the jets, the sky is like a pale milk. Light pollution. Yeah, it's nice having all that stuff, but I wish we could have kept the stars.
 

W can still see the stars very clearly in the night sky here where I live. I often step out into the garden when it's dark and just look up at them..

I used to have an App on my phone so when I pointed it at the stars it wouldtell me exctly which one was which.

My daughter whose home until recently was at the top of a mountain in Southern Spain...very long way from light pollution in the nearest towns... the sky was so full of stars over her property that one felt we could touch them if we stretched up far enough..same with the Moon.. sooo HUGE

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I don't think I'll ever get light pollution here since I live on a quiet island with only the necessities. No tall buildings. No big amusement parks. Our town council is all about keeping it that way. The stars are so clear, seem so much closer and brighter...but there's always the occasional cloudy sky to contend with.
 
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If you ever get a chance to sit in the cockpit and fly at night, it’s a very revealing experience. I would fly up to Seattle in September-November and if I would be lucky, I would see the Northern Lights, or the Aurora Borealis. What a sight to see at 35,000 ft.
 
My brother lives in Mass, on a large hill. At the bottom of one side is the stores, malls, etc. On the other is a huge plaza where the Mass Pike and I-84 cross, it's all motels and parking lots. He can't see one star, because of the lights.. 30 years ago, he visited with his wife( now ex). They sat on my deck at night, watching the stars. I felt bad because there was nothing to do. But they said seeing the stars and the quiet was refeshing-just what they needed. When I saw the milky white sky early this morning, the stars were gone.
 
fuzzybuddy said:
I don't think there's any LAWS.
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There might be some in some areas. When I used to live just outside of Vancouver, a theatre there used to have spotlights that shone up into the sky and besides it annoying the folks in the residential area, there was also concern about night flying birds. At some point, the lights finally got turned off permanently.
 
When camping in the Warrumbungles near Siding Springs observatory some years ago I was able to see the Magellanic Clouds with the naked eye. I was so excited. Hubby much less so.
 
I have not seen the many thousands of stars we can see without a telescope since the 1980s. I never go camping, but it is on my Bucket List to stay at a motel in a remote area someday and sit outside and enjoy the stars for a few hours. I would love to visit Australia or Alaska or both, but I don't hold out hope that I will ever visit those places. I lack the funds.

I'm not against outdoor lighting like some sky pollution purists. I really need outdoor lighting at my age. But we have lost something when we cannot easily see the stars anymore.

Some people will go their entire lives and never see them. Some people live their lives and never travel more than 500 miles from one town. Many of us are more privileged than we know.
 
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