Silencing the witness

 

 

As a resident of the most densely populated city in Europe ,I have never seen skies anything like those to be had in Utah, seen in this great picture above.I wish we had skies half as good as those!
Light polution I think by most is considered a joke and irrelevant,but the sodium glare we now witness night after night,effects much wildlife and plant life as well as hindering UK astronomy plus cost to the environment.The campaign for Dark Skies (see here ) recon that Money wasted by inefficient UK street-lights in the last 12 months equals £ 103,532,791,guess who has to pay for sending all that light up into the nights sky?

“Half of our environment is above the horizon. Half of our environment is not protected by the force of law. The night sky, by its very nature a site of special scientific interest and an area of outstanding natural beauty, has been quietly and gradually taken away, over the last fifty years, from those dwelling in towns and urban fringe areas, throughout the developed world. Sky-glow and obtrusive waste upward lighting also detract from the character of the night-time scene and are detrimental to local amenity, not just for astronomers, but for the public in general”.
Bob Mizon, head of the UK Campaign for Dark Skies

Image from APOD