ik507racer
super member
Reged: 01/15/08
Posts: 147
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Ok people , how would you rate the light pollution in your area , please state the place where you live.
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o1d_dude
o1der than dirt
Reged: 10/03/07
Posts: 1276
Loc: The Big Tomato, California
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I live in the state capitol of Kuh-lee-FAWN-ya.
Similar to San Francisco where the City and County of are one and the same, the Sacramento metropolitan area extends approximately a 45 minute drive generally from SW to NE and extends into the next county.
My home is in the SE part of the county and although it was once on the outskirts of town, it is now sort of close-in relative to the expansion of housing into the farm and ranch lands.
The main light dome renders pretty much everything to the north and west of me useless for observing purposes. To the south is another expansion area and a "large" small town. The boundaries are not between cities and towns are not obvious and unless you spot the city limits sign, you will believe yourself to be in the same city. Of course, every street is well lit for safety and security.
From my backyard, I'm able to observe a quadrant of sky from zenith east to the tops of the trees and from zenith south to the level at which the light dome starts to wash the sky out. From zenith north and from zenith west, I have about 10-20 degrees of relatively dark sky. All of this amounts to approximately one fourth of the available sky.
I consider myself fortunate to have that much reasonably viewable sky to observe.
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Kit
"There's only two things that excite a man, expensive toys and real expensive toys." - Red Green
* A bunch of old ATM stuff that cost me next to nothing
* A bunch of new commercial stuff that cost me an arm and a leg
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phanfave
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 08/21/06
Posts: 1232
Loc: Pioneer Valley
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I live in one of the larger cities in western massachusetts. I also live fairly close to downtown. Not counting the incredible near proximity light pollution (enough to make it really difficult to observe from home) I'm at about 4.5 mag skies. If I drive out 15 minutes I can probably be close to mag 6. This does not include the 35-40 degree high skydome from Springfield MA. That area is basically off limits to anything fainter than 7th or 8th magnitude, especially if the surface brightness is low.
However I know that my skies are better than probably 75% of folks on these forums. Do I wish it was better? Sure. But I also understand that I'm still pretty lucky.
-S
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SV70ED (soon), SV102ABV (November!!!!!!), C8, 10" Astro Sky
Vixen Sphinx, Vixen SP, SV M1, SV MG (December)
Denkmeier II binoviewers
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IDA Member
Astro League At-Large Member
Planetary Society Member
Amherst Area Astronomer Association
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ik507racer
super member
Reged: 01/15/08
Posts: 147
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I live on a Panamanian suburb. I am about 10 km from Pana city downtown , yet i can get about mag 4 skies. The one problem living in Panama is the high humidity in the air.
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Tom L
Reged: 01/07/04
Posts: 29792
Loc: Sunny Oregon
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I have about 3.5 - 4 mag skies when there are no clouds...unfortunately, clouds are the norm here.
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Tom 
Tele Vue 102mm f/8.6 on an EzTouch
Vixen 80mm f/5 A80SSWT on a grab-n-go mount
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Olivier Biot
Amused
Reged: 04/25/05
Posts: 14143
Loc: 51°N (Belgium)
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Living in Brussels, the capital of brightly lit Belgium, I must have about mag 2 skies on an average night. Polaris is not always visible, yet it is quite high in the sky at 51°N.
I can get to mag 5.5 skies if I drive for about 1 hour.
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Tal-200K (#199) with JMI NGF-Mini2M focuser on GEM3 • Astro-Tech AT80ED on Orion Sirius EQ-G with EQDIR & home made wireless EQDIRECT • Celestron Regal LX 8x42 & 10x42 • Helios 15x70
ATM 14" f/5 (designing mirror cell and filter wheel/focuser) • ATM 10" f/6 Portable Truss (polishing) • ATM 10" f/25 Dall-Kirkham (primary: polishing, secondary: #120 grit)
AstroForecast
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Mike D
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 08/15/07
Posts: 840
Loc: South GA
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I live in the geometric center of Valdosta, GA, population ~100,000. Its somewhere around magnitude four. The darksite I use is 25 miles away, straight away from the city with not much in between. The skies there are rated between green and blue, and everytime I go there, I am amazed at how many stars I can see, even though there is a light dome that rises ~20 degrees of the horizon.
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Vixen SXD
Vixen ED80Sf
Hutech 350D
STI Stiletto
Meade 2080
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KCN
sage
Reged: 04/12/06
Posts: 394
Loc: Calgary, AB, Canada
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I live in urban Calgary, Canada... Right in front of my house there are 2 extremely powerful sodium street lights shining down on my window and patio, so I can read my newspaper at midnight using no other source of light. 
If I get away from them I can see stars up to mag 4 or so. I need to drive at least 1 hour to get to better skies.
Regardless of what's being said, Calgary is one very light polluted city.   
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KCN, the Potassium Cyanide 
16" Meade Lightbridge Telescope - "personalized" with a hacksaw
GO Gemini 30x100 WP-IF Binoculars
Slik Pro 700DX AMT Tripod
Naglers: 31T5, 13T6, 9T6
2X Powermate
Orion 2" Ultrablock and O III filters
Canon EOS 450D
Half-ton pick-up truck
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Bob101
super member
Reged: 01/03/07
Posts: 150
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I live on 49 acres in East Texas that is landlocked by 140,000 acres of a National Forest. My nearest neighbor is probably 3-4 miles away at most. The nearest town is 20+ miles away and it has a population of 2,500ish. I think we are the 2nd least populated county in Texas and by far the least populated in the Eastern 1/3 of the state.
Soooooo I'd say it's not an issue at all. If it was a concern I would either move etc.... I like dark skies - but not as much as the government telling me what I can/can not do. I doubt Texas will ever see dark sky legislation except in a few select communities (most notably in the Austin area) because we are the strongest property owner rights state in the Union - and I like it that way.
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Spaz
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 01/19/07
Posts: 758
Loc: New Zealand
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No detectable light pollution at my observatory.
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osbourne one-nil
sage
Reged: 07/03/06
Posts: 440
Loc: Cumbria, England 54.5ºN 2.5ºW
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I live in the middle of Cumbria in the north of England and according to the Philips Light Pollution Map, have some of the darkest skies in England with a limiting magnitude of 6.0. This backs up my own observations. The only sky glow I have is low on the north-east horizon which is caused by the lights of Middlesbrough and, further north, Newcastle & Sunderland, about 50 miles away. This doesn't affect observing, but it is annoying as it feels invasive that I should see something so far away and the other side of the Peninnes.
What really annoys me though is although my village is very small; about 300 people, it is smothered with sodium street lights which stay on all night. This is a sleepy village, with no pavements (sidewalks) where no one is about once the pub shuts, yet it's lit all night long with a street light every 50 - 60yds. This means that my garden is pretty much useless for any serious observing, particularly in the winter when all the leaves are off the trees and shrubs.
At least I don't have far to go to get great dark skies, but it is completely unnecessary and wasteful. I have written to the council asking if they would consider replacing the lamps with full cut-off fixtures and putting them on timers when the time comes to replace them, but I imagine they think I'm just a weirdo.
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Grumpier than average
See just how rubbish the weather is where I live - www.greatasby.co.uk
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christinam
sage
Reged: 03/29/07
Posts: 387
Loc: Duncan BC Canada
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Well we live on Vancouver Island between two larger (well medium sized) cities...light pollution here isn't too bad and when observing off the back deck, the house blocks the streetlights. Some light glow from our local village but hearing from the rest of you, I am sure not complaining. Would like to see the municipalities (counties) at least switch to better light fixtures even if we couldn't convince property owners to change their ways. The press coverage from a muni switch (of course it is about money) might be enough to get people thinking.
Chris
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"Those who have a why to live can withstand any how" Nietzsche.
 Duncan BC.
Nikon D50
Nikon 18-55mm and 70-300mm lenses
WO ZS80ED (thanks Santa Baby)
HEQ-5 Pro (woohoo)
Also using the B/Fs Mak &
Skywatcher ST80 and
EQ6Pro
Bunches of eyepieces
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backwoods
newbie
Reged: 11/20/07
Posts: 1
Loc: Houston, TX
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I live in northwest Houston. These days you can see magnitude 4 stars after you've been outside for a while. It used to be better several years ago, but the constant expansion of Houston is pushing the shopping centers ever outward.
I've sent letters to several local businesses and the school district who leave large halogen lights pointing straight up to illuminate flag poles on all night long. Never gotten a response, though...
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fdunlop
member
Reged: 01/20/08
Posts: 28
Loc: Calgary AB
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Quote:
I live in urban Calgary, Canada...
Regardless of what's being said, Calgary is one very light polluted city.
The city of Calgary, Alberta recently retrofitted 40,000 streetlights at a cost of roughly $8 million, or roughly $200 per light. The city of Calgary is realizing $2 million per year in savings by retrofitting their streetlights – due to reduced energy costs. Calgary should recoup their initial investment in just four years.
I think Calgary did get better after this change. Still, limiting visual magnitude is 3-ish. However, with the miracle of "Stacking" I am amazed at the photos I can get.
The focus is a little sketchy in this pic - my first try with prime focus photography. No filters, just shoot and stack. 5 minutes total exposure, ISO 800, TV101.
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TV NP-101is
EQ6 Pro mount, SynScan 3.12, GPS
Canon EOS 400D XTi
Canon EF 70-200mm f/4 L IS USM
Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/2.8 IS USM
Canon EF 50mm f/1.4
Optional: Toque, Sorel Boots, Coveralls
Edited by fdunlop (01/20/08 10:20 PM)
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anawrot
journeyman
Reged: 09/18/07
Posts: 9
Loc: West Los Angeles
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I live in West LA, where the skies are probably no greater than mag 3. The nice thing is that we rarely get clouds and the air is really stable here, but the light pollution is about what you'd expect from LA. I can still see some of the brighter nebulae though with my Nexstar 8" GPS. I was able to pull this shot of Orion from 5 minutes worth of exposures, and it was no higher than 30 degrees.
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Bowmoreman
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 09/11/06
Posts: 2962
Loc: Bolton, MA
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I am about 30 miles west north west of downtown Boston on the westward side of the first major line of big hills as one would progress westward from Boston ("Worcester Hills")...
On the LP map I'm solidly "orange". On best new-moon nights, I can get to 20.6 on the SQM meter, more typical is around 19.5 to 20... So around NELM of 5 to 5.5ish...
Not too bad considering my proximity to Boston (~30 miles east and whose dome is quite obvious!), and Worcester (~13 miles southwest)...
Local LP is quite minimal, mostly due to fact that there are only 24 houses on a semi-communal 250 acres, and we're 1/2 mile off the nearest paved road... My neighbors are quite responsible (I've had them over to view several times), and one of my other neighbors has a really nice Dome Observatory with a 16" DK in it 
The real LP nuisance for me, is the local highschool and it's lights which seem to blaze much of the year 1/2 mile due north of me. It's worse than the entire Boston Light dome! I may be getting politically active on THAT front soon, using the energy savings angle coupled with the tax rate increase they want (to fund the schools!)...
At this point in life I would ONLY consider moving to an area with better skies and less LP.
clear enough skies all
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Dave
Ustream
YLive
XT10i, RTP, CGE, R200CF, TMB80SS
31T5, 22T4, 13Ethos, 8Ethos, TV 3-6 Zoom; Paracorr
MallincamColorHyperPlus,SBIG STV&237A;CanonRebel Xti
WilderSkiesObservatory(BYO #90)
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moron392
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 08/20/07
Posts: 808
Loc: Charlotte, NC
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in a higher-class neighborhood, like i live in, uplighting is quite popular, and the people can afford it, so this is my sky, with a few high, thin clouds:
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"If you've done something right, people won't be sure you've done anything at all."
http://www.freewebs.com/moron392/index.htm
60mm meade ngc60 refractor.
Meade 70AZ-TR (short one)
50mm homemade refractor (occasionally with a solar filter)
starblast4.5EQ
6mm,15mm expanse eyepieces
9mm meade Mh eyepiece,17.5mm Meade MA
nikon 7x35's
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gilligan
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 01/02/08
Posts: 977
Loc: Looking for the Bridge
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600 miles south of o1d dude, in the desert, Blythe, Kuh-lee-FAWN-ya. Right on the Colorado River, On the Arizona border.
When there is no moon, There is NO LP!! Its as clear as a brand new pair of glasses. And darker then then closet. Blythe is a very small border town, Population hoovers around 2K, Seasonal,
Not knowing the LP scale, On a scale of 1 to 10, whereas 1 being the least, 10 being greater, then Blythe on a moonless night is a -1, I'm new to all of this, so escuse my scale 
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Gilligan
Celestron CPC 1100 GPS "Hal 2000"
Meade DSI II
Meade LPI
And a bunch of other stuff..
Summer in Moab,Ut.
Winter in Blythe,Ca.
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Illinois
professor emeritus
Reged: 12/18/06
Posts: 546
Loc: near Chicago, Illinois USA
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My backyard is bad bad bad! I livei in Niles and streetlights is not too bad, Milwaukee Ave in Niles have better streetlamps which is light go down but I live only a few miles from terrible streetlights......CHICAGO!. Waste streetlights! About 4 streetlights, poor and out of date lamps every one block! That's a lot of streetlights! If they remove every other streetlight and update improve lamps then the sky could be improve! I like Suburb Mt. Prosepect designed streetlights and it go down......plus small boards on the back of the lamps so the light don't go to the apartments or building!
I got IDA newsletter recently and Chciago think about the streetlights.....I hope they do something about it then they would save million of dollars per year!
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Astronomer since 1975!
Meade 16" Lightbridge Dobsonian
Orion 10" SkyQuest Classic Dobsonian
Tele Vue Eyepieces
Orion Expanse Wide-Field 6mm eyepiece
4.5" F5 Reflector since 1982!
Orion Narrowband and SkyGlow filters
Member of IDA, let's fight light pollution!
Old Edmund 6"F8...donated to cousins
Super Polaris C8...donated to Byron Observatory in Illinois
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SATXSkywatcher
super member
Reged: 01/29/06
Posts: 103
Loc: San Antonio, TX
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Back in they day, my parents lived on the "outskirts of San Antonio" and I remember sitting as a teenager seeing a sky filled with stars and looking for satellites speeding across the sky with my dad. No more, after building numerous eateries, hotels, and new subdivisions; only the brightest constellations are visible. Luckily, me and the wife/kids live on the "new" outskirts and still get a good view of the sky towards the S/SW/W. The view towards the N/NE is crummy. If I get the craving for a dark sky; I just drive about 45 minutes toward the Texas Hill Country and find some peace.
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4.5" Meade 2114 Autostar, 60mm Jason refractor telescope, and one good pair of eyeballs.
*****18" F4.2 Teeter's ULES, Servocat/Argo Navis, FT Focuser, coming OCTOBER 2008*****
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