starry, starry night

Our council in London, has started to introduce street lighting which directs the light towards the ground and reduces the escape of light into the sky. I have noticed a small improvement to the view of the night sky. There is still a long way to go however, but any improvement should be welcome. There are few places in the UK where we are able to see the full magnificence of the night sky. To do so one would need to go to the more remote areas of Scotland, Wales and Northern England.



When I was a boy, a half mile walk from my village would reveal completely dark skies My father used to point out the most noticeable constellations such as the Great Bear, Orion, Cassiopeia . I am have always held a fascination for the night skies ever since. I used to watch out for Yuri Gagarin and John Glenn in orbit but I was always in the wrong place at the wrong time.



From London I can still make out the brighter constellations but where has Ursa Minor gone? I can just about identify Castor and Pollux but where is the rest of its constellation? Where is the Milky Way? They are lost in the orange glow unfortunately.



In 1997, the comet Hale Bopp was able to penetrate the light and particle pollution over London and the sight was inspiring. A trip to the Auvergne in France, and away from much of the light pollution, shewed the comet in its magnificent glory; the size of its tails was truly amazing. This is a sight everyone should have the privilege of seeing.



Later, in France again and during Christmas 1999, hurricane force winds had turned off all the lights in the Champagne region where I was staying. A trip out into the country showed me how spectacular our skies could be again if the light pollution disappeared. The wind and rain had cleared the air but it was difficult to pick out the constellations because of a surfeit of stars; we simply were not used to seeing so many. I had almost forgotten what the Milky Way looked like.



Of course, it is now impractical to provide completely dark skies in our cities but we have made a good start. It should now be possible to improve, substantially, the visibility of the skies from our suburbs and villages. Children would, then again, not be so far from a location where they could see the full magnificence of the Milky Way. Hopefully, they would be inspired and the spirit of Gagarin, Glenn and Jim Lovell would live on indefinitely.