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61 Comments
- inactive, on 04/03/2009, -0/+45"It's estimated that about one fifth of the world's population and more than two-thirds in the U.S. cannot see the Milky Way from their homes."
So true. I live in a suburb outside of Boston, and I still remember being stunned the first time I was actually able to see the arm of the Milky Way. - acmaurer, on 02/09/2009, -1/+30This is awesome! Nice to know people are taking the initiative to appreciate the wonder around them - even if this means inconveniencing themselves.
- avatarpalin, on 02/10/2009, -0/+14We are lucky here in Australia, there are plenty of places where you can see the Milky way.. There is a place called Bright in Victroria, drive 40k north east there along the Buckland valley... At night you will see stars, so many stars that you will know that there is no blackness in the night sky, just a sea of twinkling lights. The tip is to let your eyes ajdust takes about 20 - 30 minutes...
I went out one night for a wizz whilst camping... The best view I have ever had whilst doing it. - thepicklebot, on 02/09/2009, -1/+13I live in the country in rural Cornwall, UK. The stars are stunning, but still on the horizon you see the colours of what looks like a forest fire, tainting the skies over towns. There are solutions that prevent a great deal of wasted light without switching them off, one wonders why they are not used
- RealmDown, on 02/10/2009, -1/+12I recognize you! You played that troll in Harry Potter, didn't you ?
- guyinjapan, on 02/10/2009, -0/+11I actually visited this town (Lake Tekapo) last year, and the article is right. It was truly one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen. The lake is literally turquoise, the mountains actually glow orange when the sun sets, and, like the article mentions, the stars truly were spectacular. It was just mind-blowing... I thought space only looked like that in the movies. Seeing a night sky like that is definitely a once-in-a-lifetime thing. If you ever wind up driving around New Zealand's South Island (most worthwhile vacation I've ever taken, by the way), the lazy little town of Tekapo is definitely worth stopping in for a day or two on your way to Mount Cook or wherever.
- inactive, on 02/10/2009, -3/+10but now they are going to have a string of car hood ornament theft, which the town will combat with overlighting - which will lead to the destruction of the entire exterior lighting system by a 10 year old boy, his younger sister, and their delirious-from-lack-of-sleep father, in an effort to view the deadly meteor shower.
- mreade, on 02/10/2009, -0/+7I'm very grateful to live in an area where the skies are clear and the stars are bright, I often go for a wander along the beach at night with almost no man-made lights to be seen anywhere.
- kiwiboyus, on 02/10/2009, -0/+7Takapo is a beautiful area http://www.tekapotourism.co.nz/gallery/photo_page0 ...
- Murdats, on 02/10/2009, -0/+6don't like then don't live there.
- davidswan89, on 02/10/2009, -1/+7On that basis I'd hate to see how long your girlfriends last
- jonesyno, on 02/10/2009, -0/+5Sorry. . I didn't realize Flight of the Conchords was above you all. . .
http://images24.fotki.com/v829/photos/8/8912/51107 ... - guyinjapan, on 02/10/2009, -1/+6Or, you know, maybe urban violence has to do with the poverty and overcrowding that comes with urban living. Just a thought.
- tolgafiratoglu, on 02/10/2009, -0/+5All New Zealand is great not only Takapo.
I want to get elder there! - zadadka, on 02/10/2009, -0/+4It's the International Year Of Astronomy
http://www.astronomy2009.org/
Go find a local astronomy club hosting "star parties" and see Saturn, Jupiter etc with your own eyes....
Do what you can to help turn light pollution down, so more us us can see something when we look up. - altgeeky1, on 02/10/2009, -0/+4Yep. I'm in Nashua NH, and on a good night I can see about 7 stars.
The streetlights are not well shielded.
Lighting around stores is designed not to safely light the way for pedestrians (what pedestrians??) but to be seen from the road or highway.
The roads are starting to be littered with those uber-bright "LED signs". Unlike flourescent lit store signs, LED ones just about BURN the image into your retinas. Great concept, make people keep seeing your sign long after they drove past. Good that LEDs are super directional, so it can be aimed like that.
Here the auto dealers get those massive anti-aircraft type spotlights, and shine them straight into the sky. Thankfully, these ***** will be tightening their belts soon.
You don't even have to "go dark" to greatly improve things. I just pointed out the worst causes, and they're well known. Reflective shields on parking lot and street lights would not only be a HELP, but they'd reflect more light at the ground and therefore allow for a smaller lumens bulb to light the same area.
You have to go well north of Concord and away from the highway to see the stars. Most people do not care though.. the more they are disconnected from nature, the less likely they are to care. Sad. - eers2snow, on 02/10/2009, -0/+4Heck yea! I lived in Tekapo for 5 months. AMAZING place in the middle of nowhere. good for them!
- wo0dy, on 02/10/2009, -0/+4LOL
- kokoves, on 02/10/2009, -0/+4The view of a fully-starred night is a spectacle both aesthetically awesome and existentially inspiring
- kamikaze134, on 02/10/2009, -0/+3Lisa Simpson approves.
- wily6, on 02/10/2009, -0/+3Hey Arnold!
He got a whole city to turn off the lights for Haley's Comet! - wipis, on 02/10/2009, -0/+3People don't believe me that you can see the Milky Way. I don't know if it really is but when I describe it to them they say it can't be seen. I saw it once at home on a very clear night and another time in the middle of a Rain forest in Belize. A curving arm of stars that comes to a point. They are so dense and so tiny and not very bright that you first think its a cloud or dust. But you keep looking till your eyes focus and you see that it doesn't move.
- saminfused, on 02/10/2009, -0/+3I live in a major city in New Zealand and I can see the milky way fine. Obviously it would be better with zero light pollution, but only Auckland would be horrible for that.
- jerrykew, on 02/10/2009, -2/+5For what it is worth, I have always felt that light pollution and urban violence are related. when you can see the night sky you can see just how small and insignificant you are, it can't be healthy to lose that.
- ShiftyBizniss, on 02/10/2009, -0/+3I hear they have a toothbrush fence. 50 brushes. don't have one of those in australia do ya
- AkronGuy, on 02/10/2009, -0/+3First time and only time I was ever able to see the Milky Way was during the North American Blackout of 2003. It was a beautiful night. Many people were very upset that night, but I loved it.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2003_North_American_b ... - jerrykew, on 02/10/2009, -0/+2I didn't say it was the cause, I said I *thought* it might be related, and here in Britain we often get urban violence even where there is no poverty involved.
- RealmDown, on 02/10/2009, -2/+4Well, Washington D.C. did it last month.
- petebot, on 02/10/2009, -1/+3New Zealand...rocks!!!
- inactive, on 02/10/2009, -0/+2New Zealand's a great place to live. NZ FTW
- jshhmr, on 02/10/2009, -0/+2Check my video out that I did. It was taken in West Texas a couple of miles away form McDonald observatory. The Milky Way lit up the sky.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gbv_gH5ybc0 - zxof, on 02/10/2009, -0/+2my pic of the same church:
http://flickr.com/photos/zxof/3257135737/ - yuanzhoulu, on 02/10/2009, -0/+2actually, LED signs are less likely to cause light pollution, *because* they are directional: they don't point them up.
sodium lights are probably worst at fault for city light pollution -- they blast light in all directions to illuminate parking lots and such. - NorrisOBE, on 02/10/2009, -0/+1Well thanks for the tip. I'll Be moving to Melbourne in 2010.
- burninman, on 02/10/2009, -0/+1I live in Sydney, very close to the city centre and I can see the stars very clearly from my house - I don't even have to go outside, I can see them from my room.
I've never found that to be the case in any built-up European or American cities where you need to go out to the country before you can see the stars. - thepicklebot, on 02/11/2009, -0/+1Agreed. One inexpensive method would be placing hoods over the existing, ineffective lamps.
- Julita248, on 03/02/2009, -0/+1Its good to hear that UNESCO is trying to get on the list of some protected town. I hope places like this should b e preserved.
I would love to live in a place that. - breakaway, on 02/10/2009, -1/+2That is the most terribly formatted article I have EVER seen.
- zip000, on 02/10/2009, -1/+2Because replacing the existing lights is expensive.
We could make the world a paradise again if we were willing to pay for it. - avatarpalin, on 02/10/2009, -1/+2ummmmm......nope
- avatarpalin, on 02/10/2009, -0/+1No worries... You will love it, oh and if you love coffee then go to the coffee shop on the corner of Victoria Street and Shellie St... The best in the world*
*Disclaimer.. I have never been to Italy, well actually I have only been to few countries in the world so it really doesn't mean much. Still though it's good coffee! - HappyScrappy, on 02/10/2009, -0/+1San Jose, California does the same thing. Although it isn't a litle town, not by far.
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0BYL/is_8_1 ... - AbsurdParadox, on 02/10/2009, -1/+2"Town officials later turned necessity into a virtue by expanding controls on public and private lighting in a 19-mile ring around the town and observatory to keep the sky dark."
So... creating laws creates virtues? Sweet! - yuanzhoulu, on 02/10/2009, -0/+1it's kind of interesting that us city people, beat people, and internet people are so awed by a night sky. it's true, and so am i.
it's an everyday sight to villagers around the world. :)
it's not a bad thing though -- cities are good for the earth, because they focus all the pollution (light, noise, etc.) in one place and make distances short and transportation efficient for people to conduct business life, destroying only a small area, rather than spreading it and affecting a large area. - petebot, on 02/10/2009, -1/+2Yeah, well, you don't have a fence made out of toothbrushes, do you?
- EricWhitten, on 08/16/2009, -0/+0This just goes to show the quality of individuals living in that town and maybe even reflect New Zealand's overall outlook towards preserving their environment and the natural wonders that has attracted millions to migrate to such a wonderful place.
- AdeleMor, on 02/10/2009, -1/+1It's sad that this novelty is even needed.
- inactive, on 02/10/2009, -2/+1I love covering myself in vaseline and going for long nude starlit walks.
- Redpaw360, on 02/10/2009, -4/+2Sadly, Once the 1,000,000 tourists show up with LED Flashlights, The ground will glow for 1,500 years.
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