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Page: Profile: Wren's Nest News Local
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Article: 11060
[Environmental]
Date Posted:
9/20/2004
12:44:10 am EDT
Wvox Stats
Views: 14,345
RSS: 0
Comments: 18
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Overlighting Dims A Truly Stellar Sight
Author: Bronwyn Lance Chester Source: Grand Forks Herald (ND)
Title: OVERLIGHTING DIMS A TRULY STELLAR SIGHT
  Sitting around the fire pit outside my father's house, talking and poking at hot coals as the glorious indigo twilight ripened into black, I looked up and stopped in midsentence.
The dark dome of the late-summer sky was alive with stars.
What at first appeared to be a scattering of celestial bodies - sharp pinpoints of light in the gathering dusk - was transformed after a few minutes into a heavenly carpet of hundreds, then thousands, then millions of stars.
I momentarily was startled to see them and mentally greeted them the same way I'd welcome a dear confidant gone a touch too long.
For years, I've searched in vain for them over my house in Virginia Beach. But even on the clearest of nights, only the cheekiest and boldest of the bunch can penetrate the streetlights, floodlights and security lights that are signs of our afraid-of-the-dark 21st-century times.
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Community Thoughts: There are 18 comments posted | Reverse Sort |
| Afraid Of The Dark....... | Sep 21st. at 9:34:35 am EDT |
by Ls Wolfwoman (Leslie) (Midland, Mich) - wc_xemail
I miss being "up north" where the lack of street lights, headlights, houselights, and neon signs blare over the night sky.
I swear "civilized" people are afraid of the dark. I find a sense of peace and belonging in the dark under a starlit night sky, closer to the Deity.
Bless the darkness,
Blessings to all,
LS Wolfwoman
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| The Heavens' Embroidered Cloths | Sep 21st. at 2:13:16 am EDT |
by Hope (Boone, NC) - wc_xemail - Web
Growing up in the country, I took the beauty of the night sky for granted...until I moved to Raleigh, where the sky was orange at night more often than not because of the pollution/cloud coverage which reflected all of the street lights. Even on clear nights you can barely see the stars. It feels like you've lost a piece of your soul.
I love the fall especially because there are many chilly but incredibly clear nigts, where you can spread a blanket out on the lawn to stargaze or even take a trip to the Parkway for a really spectacular view.
It's no wonder people lose their sense of wonder in the cities. :-/
He Wishes for the Cloths of Heaven
by William Butler Yeats
Had I the heavens' embroidered cloths,
Enwrought with golden and silver light,
The blue and the dim and the dark cloths
Of night and light and the half-light,
I would spread the cloths under your feet:
But I, being poor, have only my dreams;
I have spread my dreams under your feet;
Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.
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| ***imagine What It Could Be Like*** | Sep 21st. at 12:46:51 am EDT |
by maggie (montreal, qc, canada) - wc_xemail
I grew up on the Lower East Side in Manhattan in the late 40's, early 50's. I have clear memories of walking on warm summer nights with my Dad to buy hand-packed ice cream and and gazing in awe at a sky full of stars! It was one of the few times we got in to one of those conversations where we pondered the meaning of life and what was beyond our small planet. Years later I did a small watercolor of that scene & gave to my Dad. Since then, both my parents have passed away & I now have it. Writing this has prompted me to get it out and frame it.
I miss seeing a good skyful of twinklers sooooooo much! I've seen them on a beach at Big Sur in the 60's, at another beach in Greece in the 70's and one in India in the 80's. I raised my children 100 miles outside of Montreal in the 70's and remember glorious skies and aurora borealis. We spent hours outdoors during and after sunset, reveling in the skyview, sometimes going down to the swimming hole to swim under the starlight. My last good eyeful was on San Juan Island, WA, in the Juan de Fuca Straight during the summer, on a visit to see my daughter.
After divorcing, I moved to Montreal and this is the one big thng I miss. I have a raised stair platform outside my apartment, with no streets in front, just a turnabout & lots of trees. Even on cold, snowy nights, I creep outside late at night just to see the moon, an eclipse or a scant few stars. It's so sad. I've heard of the anti-light-pollution movement and applaud those who are active in educating city planners and neighbors on alternatives to star-killers.
During our big Ice Storm here a few years ago, Hydro-Quebec shut their office lights off after people started saying what hypocrites they were for wasting energy while thousands went without heat or light for days and weeks. The stars and the peace here were so beautiful then. Being in a city without hot water and light wasn't, but maybe that's something to ponder.
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| The Stars Are My True Temple | Sep 20th. at 9:10:23 pm EDT |
by Richard Brownbear (Southern US) - wc_xemail
I never feel closer to the Deity, nor do I feel complete, unless I am under a clear sky filled with stars, staring into the awesome vastness of the cosmos.
When you realize that the light you see in those little twinkles are actually tens, hundreds, and thousands of years old, ... and that they come from stars of all kinds, from white dwarves to red giants, .....you can feel the actual touch of the universe on you.
It is an awesome experience, one I cannot do without for too long without feeling some depression and loss. I really feel for those who cannot experience this because of where they live.
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| Missing The Stars | Sep 20th. at 7:42:34 pm EDT |
by Valerion (Marysville, WA) - wc_xemail
The nice thing about being in the navy is that when you deploy out into the middle of the ocean you can truly see the universe as it should be. I have lived now for too many years in places like Tokyo where the light level allows only viewing of the moon and one or two select stars.
My wife was born and raised in Tokyo and when we were stationed in Hawaii we went to one of the other islands away from the bright lights of Honolulu and I drove her out into the darkes corner of the island and turned off the lights. I told her to get out of the car and look up. I will never forget the expression of awe that came from her as she saw for the very first time the Milky Way in all its glory. She simply did not know that there were that many stars to be seen in the sky.
Now we live in suburbal Seattle.... still can't see but a few stars, but at least its better than Tokyo.... for now.
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| Childhood Memories | Sep 20th. at 3:01:32 pm EDT |
by Dragon Heritage (Harrisonburg, VA) - wc_xemail
reading this reminded me of when i was a young child and living on an air force base in north dakota, and how on the coldest nights the sky would be a dazzling, spectacular feast of sparkling entities which my eyes could never get enough of. not only did we have beautiful starlight (so clear that you could see the seven sisters, a small cluster of starts on one of the horns of taurus) but we had the good luck of being able to see the northern lights...
it really is a shame that light pollution is so rampant these days. i would give anything to be able to bundle up on a winter night and lay in the snow to watch the stars.
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| What Made Me Sad | Sep 20th. at 1:53:57 pm EDT |
by Zoritsa (Lost in the bright city lights) - wc_xemail
Was seeing the expression on my sons face when he saw the amazing night sky after we had taken a trip out my sisters house in the middle of nowhere, and then gone back home to see maybe a handfull of stars.He was about 3 or 4 and that was the very first time he had seen so many stars....yet I remember seeing that many as a young child myself every night.
Zori
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| Dark Skies Need Your Help! | Sep 20th. at 12:43:19 pm EDT |
by Joshua (Ogden, Utah) - wc_xemail
Are you pissed at the total disregard of common sense and conservation when it comes to lighting in your neighborhood/city? You're not completely helpless. Visit the International Dark-Sky Association web site to find out how you could make a difference in your community.
[Web LINK] Find More info -- HERE
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| I Agree Here | Sep 20th. at 12:07:05 pm EDT |
by medusa (washington) - wc_xemail
I live in an area that has clouds most of the year, trees that block views of the sky, and way too much light pollution. On some nights there is an orange glow from a nearby area. I treasure those infrequent days when we can see the stars, the moon and the sunrise without interference. I am totally amazed when we drive into the big city the number of empty office buildings that are lit up like high noon. I cannot believe the amount of money wasted.
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| There Is Nothing | Sep 20th. at 11:30:18 am EDT |
by Erihu (North Carolina) - wc_xemail
like stargazing. Where we live, it's fairly rural still. Only a bit of light glare from the slightly larger town to the West to obscure the view. The family just adores sitting out at night identifying the constellations. We bought our house from a woman in her sixties, so there was one of those lights someone else mentioned earlier. It's gone now. Also, our neighbors had a very bright spotlight out back, so that they could take their dog out at night, and not have to worry about the alligators eating her. Understandable, and they've since put up a fence, so they don't turn it on as much. I also agree with the posts about people lighting up their campsites like it's an airstrip. It bothers me too. We only use one lantern and let our eyes adjust. And most times, the firelight is sufficient. On the other hand, I have to admit that when we (with our kids) are camping in an area that's likely to have bears, the well-lit bathrooms are comforting. I guess you can't have your cake, and eat it too :)
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| The Lights Have To Go | Sep 20th. at 10:36:19 am EDT |
by Loki (Alabama) - wc_xemail
I moved into my current home in 1995. When we moved in the backyard was flooded with light from a huge dawn to dusk light from the electric company. I guess the previous owners were afraid of the dark. It's costs were an extra $9.00 a month on the electric bill. Made the backyard look like daylight. Needless to say the electric company was called out to disconect. Now I have a fairly dark backyard. I can see the milky way even with the light pollution around our rural town. Get on top of the mountain and you can see super wallmart five miles away.
That is all I have to say about that.
Loki
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| They Do It Camping Too!!! | Sep 20th. at 10:07:05 am EDT |
by Steph (Midwest City OK) - wc_xemail
You cannot even escape the lights while camping. People by six full size lanterns and turn them up so high that the hiss can be heard over cicadas.
They light their camp site up like its a freaking operating room. And then the leave garbage everywhere and turn up their portable televisions to watch their favorite shows.
Here's a clue.
If you are afraid of the dark, if you can't miss knot's landing, or JR or the Bachelor, or whatever dumb-@ss show is on, get a freaken hotel room!
Don't feed the skunks or the bears, don't light your stupid camp site up like an area 51 landing site, and SHUT UP!
And I don't want to see you peeing on your camp fire.
oh, was that out loud?
Not that it matters, they light park bathrooms up on the outside and put illuminated coke machines that hum louder than lanterns and those glare all over everthing.
Its funny people will come to our campsite thinking its empty, shine their car lights on it only to see that yep, we're there, its just we use a small candle lantern and a small campfire for light and let our eyes adjust. They did adjust, just before you burned our retinas out with the halogen head lights on your SUV.
I have two words.
forced sterilization!
Stupid people shouldn't breed
AND we have neighbors that have to light up their pastures, their outhouses, their tomato plants whatever divine treasure they are guarding.
We live in the "country" too. The Well Lit country where you can read outside at midnight.
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| Boy Can I Second This! | Sep 20th. at 7:31:55 am EDT |
by D. J. (US) - wc_xemail
I too live "out in the country." It is rural, but far from remote anymore. For years now, the place next to me has been owned by people from the city about 200 miles away, who use it as a summer place. And of course they have it lit up like an airstrip.
I've always kept an eye on the place for them when they're not around, and from the first tried to convince them that the halogen floodlight actually made it HARDER for me to see what's going on at night. No dice though. They insisted it stay. The damned thing practically blinds me so that sitting on the front porch at night is irritating.
Another neighbor across the road had a regular streetlight even before I got here and it was never a problem before. Three years ago though, "Critter" moved onto that place (the name is self-explanitory once one meets him) . Since he's "harvested" about 25 of the majestic oaks over there, I now have a clearer blast from that light too.
I get my best view of the night sky (never saw the Milky Way until I moved here) out in back of the house where at least the glare is blocked. But the general overspray from these two lights still diminishes the spectacle.
Well, the good news is, the place next door just changed hands. The new folks too are from the city, but less anal and much more nature oriented. I'm waiting to broach the subject of "the light" that's bugged me for fourteen years. I think I can get them to change it or move it. Got other plans for Critter.
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| Cheating Themselves | Sep 20th. at 7:01:08 am EDT |
by Morkatt (NW Wisconsin) - wc_xemail
We live out in the country where are neighbors aren't too close together, so the occasional yard light doesn't obscure our view too much. What I don't understand are the city folks who are moving into the old farmhouses in our area. They feel the need to put a bunch of small spotlights in the ground around their houses, as well as "decorative" lights on either side of their doors, on the garage, and usually an old fashioned street lamp-type light in their front yards. We actually call one of these houses "the mother ship" due to all of the lights in their yard (and since they leave these lights on 24/7 I would love to have the $$$ they spend on their electric bill!) . These poor folks don't realize that they're cheating themselves out of the best light show they could ever imagine!! I'm no astronomer, but I love sitting outside stargazing, even in our sub-zero winter when we get the added bonus of the Northern Lights. I just pray that our nearest neighbors never portion off their farmland to sell to these artificial light-happy people - I don't understand why they feel the need to turn the night into day, but I sure don't want their decorating (non) sense to ruin my night sky viewing!
>^..^<
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| Check This Out | Sep 20th. at 6:23:27 am EDT |
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