Wednesday, September 19, 2007

The Stars thru NVGs

We talk about noise pollution. We talk about smog, dust and other pollutants. But we never seem to talk about light pollution!

Light Pollution? Yes, I am a few miles from Kitt Peak Observatory off of State Route 86 west of Tucson, AZ. Kitt Peak has had some issues with the population growth that Arizona has experienced since 2000.

The population boom has enabled the construction of street lights minimizing the ability of the observatory to see into outer space. That is why I call it light pollution! Many cities are installing the low emission light bulbs. They give an orange low light glow enabling city dwellers to see the stars.

The pictures are taken through NVGs on my Treo 700P. Enjoy. The first pic is of Venus, I think, coming up from the east. The second pic I was looking up at the Big Dipper. Kind of hard to tell, but what do you expect from a 700P through NVGs.

2 comments:

forgot said...

Very cool. I wish they'd put those bulbs in around here, although I have a great view from my driveway. For some reason the light polution doesn't seem as bad as about 1/2 mile away.

Luis Martinez said...

They are sodium something or other bulbs. We have them here In Maricopa as well. Most of Phoenix has them on public areas.

But yeah, the pics look good coming from a Treo through NVG's.