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Davidgojr
member
Reged: 08/09/08
Posts: 58
Loc: San Antonio, TX
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I read an interesting article today discussing the decline of fireflies across the world in recent years. One of the causes listed for the decline is the increase in light pollution. I hope these types of articles bring more attention to the light pollution issue.
Here is the link:
Fading Fireflies Story
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San Antonio, TX
Orion XT6
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ForgottenMObject
Post Laureate
Reged: 09/11/04
Posts: 3585
Loc: Maryland, US
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I thought something was up with this: fireflies have become so rare these days compared to in my youth... so they're being destroyed, too by humanity... wonderful...
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Matthew
IDA member
XT8i, 10x50 binoculars, lots of eyepieces
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star drop
Guilty as Charged
Reged: 02/02/08
Posts: 3289
Loc: Cattaraugus Co., NY
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Fireflies prefer darkness, unpolluted air, and deeper grass. Living in Niagara Falls and Buffalo NY for 48 years I only saw ONE firefly during that time span in those cities. They were quite abundant in the fields ten to fifteen miles away. Now one has to travel farther from the cities to see them. Outdoor lights, mowed lawns and lawn sprays are deterents to their life styles. Scientific studies won't reveal much. Setting a baseline firefly population now instead of one set centuries ago will skew the results. The same thing is happening with oceanic fish populations. The best indicators are pictures taken at specific deep sea fishing locations. Fifty years ago the big trophy catches were fish bigger than the fishermen with the little fish left to rot on the ground. Now recent trophy fish are smaller than those discarded in earlier years. Early firefly photos are far fewer in number. Only in poetic works does one truly learn the majesty of how the fireflies appeared long ago.
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Ted
Edited by star drop (09/02/08 01:05 PM)
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Tony Flanders
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 05/18/06
Posts: 2102
Loc: Cambridge, MA, USA
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Quote:
I thought something was up with this: fireflies have become so rare these days compared to in my youth... so they're being destroyed, too by humanity... wonderful...
Intriguing! Fireflies are still overwhelmingly abundant at my country home in New Lebanon, New York -- every bit as abundant as 40 years ago, as far as I can remember.
That would tend to corroborate other people's comments. Most houses there don't leave outdoor lights on, there's lots of grass that's mowed only once a year, and only a fanatic would dream of a chem lawn in such a place.
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Tony Flanders
eyeglasses
6x15 and 8x32 monoculars
8x25, 7x35, 10x30 IS, 10x50, and 15x70 binoculars
70mm and 100mm achromatic refractors
4.5", 7", and 12.5" Dobs
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RussL
Music Maker
Reged: 03/18/08
Posts: 1609
Loc: Cayce, SC
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It is a sad thing. I remember fireflies being abundant in my small town of Lancaster, SC when I was a kid. Now, down around Columbia, I hardly ever see one at all. Each time I see one , it is a joyous moment for me, as if I had just seen my first DSO.
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--Russell
"Akita mani yo." Observe everything as you walk. (--Lakota)
Celestron Celestar 8 Standard SCT, f10
Celestron 80mm Wide View ref., f5
Criterion RV-6 Dynascope, Newt., f8, (c. 1962)
Sears Discoverer 60mm ref., f7, (c. 1973)
Celestron Ultima DX 10x50, 6.5 TFOV
Tasco 7x35 wide
Several mediocre eyepieces
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jrw11
professor emeritus
Reged: 06/09/07
Posts: 501
Loc: U.S.A.
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It's interesting how people who appreciate the night sky appreciate the things that in some way are tied to it.
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Celestron C6n -HD Reflector
dual axis drive motors added
Orion 80mm Short tube refractor
Skyscout
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Garrett Optical 12x60
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127mm KL lens for RB, Bellows hood for RB67
120 and 220 film backs
Cambo SCII 4x5 view camera
over 50 other film cameras
several eyepieces
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s58y
Post Laureate
Reged: 12/12/04
Posts: 4861
Loc: Eastern NY
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Quote:
Intriguing! Fireflies are still overwhelmingly abundant at my country home in New Lebanon, New York -- every bit as abundant as 40 years ago, as far as I can remember.
This matches my observations. I've also noticed an overabundance of fireflies up in the Catskills (not all that far from New Lebanon, I suppose). Back when I was a kid 40+ years ago, in the Adirondacks, Berkshires, and rural Kentucky, I don't recall ever seeing as many fireflies as I do up there in the Catskills. It's a good thing that the fireflies up there are almost invisible in H-alpha and UHC filters.
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Hutech 30D, SBIG ST-402 autoguider
SV80S, SV66 guidescope
AP900, G-11, Barndoor tracker
http://www.pbase.com/s58y
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mbohan
member
Reged: 08/08/08
Posts: 35
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I'll vouch for the abundance here (NE Ohio) as well. I have a 4 acre yard and I've let 2.5 of it grow into weeds and will eventually go to brush / woods for privacy. I don't know what it is, but the fireflies were out like fireworks this summer. I don't know if fireflies stay in one place or move around, but if they stay in one area, it would seem I've provided some good habitat for them.
MPB
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Ptarmigan
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 09/23/04
Posts: 1874
Loc: Arctic
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I only saw one firefly last year. I used to remember seeing a lot of fireflies in the city when I was a kid. Some think it is because of fire ants to mosquito control. However, even in those areas, fireflies are abundant. Light pollution as a factor would not surprise me. If I want to see a lot of fireflies, I have to fo faraway from the city.
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Ptarmigans=Cute and Cuddly
Edited by Ptarmigan (09/07/08 01:05 PM)
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Octavarium
member
Reged: 08/02/08
Posts: 62
Loc: East Haven, CT
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I have a good amount the summer months in CT...I cant say for sure or not I noticed a decline since I was a kid however. The more people that crowd this planet, the more problems will arise however. The fishing overextraction is very scary to me.
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Meade ETX-125PE
Series 4000 plossol eyepiece/filter set
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George N
sage
Reged: 05/19/06
Posts: 311
Loc: Binghamton & Indian Lake NY
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Quote:
..... It's a good thing that the fireflies up there are almost invisible in H-alpha and UHC filters.
About 2 or 3 years ago I had kinda dosed off while CCD’ing using Kopernik Observatory’s 20-inch RC. I ‘came to’ when I noticed a dull red flashing light inside the dome. Looking up I saw a fire fly disappearing down the 20-inch’s tube! An RC already has a big secondary, and a spider, and now it had a fire fly…… scratch one sub-exposure! There are still lots of fire flies around the Binghamton NY area, especially at Kopernik where the SQM readings sometimes get to 21.25. I have plenty of them in my backyard too. …..and last night I had a bear in my garbage cans….. hopefully he will not develop a taste for “Obsession telescope” or “astronomer”. 
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George N
Obsession 20
Optical Guidance Systems 10" F/9 R-C Cass
6" F/5 & 8" F/8 home-made Newts
MI-250 mount
SBIG STL-1301E CCD
Member, International Dark-Sky Association
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DNTash
professor emeritus
Reged: 09/02/07
Posts: 635
Loc: New Delhi, India
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This all makes sense to me. My wife just got back from a trip with some friends here in India, up on the Ganges near the Himalayas, where there was no electricity in the village she stayed in, nor in any village within many miles. They had generators in their tents, but nobody used them, preferring candle light.
She said, knowing my interest, that the sky there was pitch black at night, and awash with fireflies. She hadn't seen a firefly in years. With my hobby in mind, she urged me to go up there with a scope.
As an aside, she said the spiders were really big there, too. Hmmmm....decisions, decisions.
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WO 66 Doublet
Meade ETX-90PE
WO "Crayford-ed" Orion 120ST
SkyMaster 15x70's, Meade Safari Pro 8x42's, Nikon Monarch 10x42's
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panhard
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 01/20/08
Posts: 2574
Loc: Markham Ont.
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Quote:
This all makes sense to me. My wife just got back from a trip with some friends here in India, up on the Ganges near the Himalayas, where there was no electricity in the village she stayed in, nor in any village within many miles. They had generators in their tents, but nobody used them, preferring candle light.
She said, knowing my interest, that the sky there was pitch black at night, and awash with fireflies. She hadn't seen a firefly in years. With my hobby in mind, she urged me to go up there with a scope.
As an aside, she said the spiders were really big there, too. Hmmmm....decisions, decisions.
I have no issues with the fire flies but the spiders Hmmmmmmm. 
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Orion xt10i
8 & 17mm Hyperion eye pieces
koning 32mm 25mm skywatcher eyepieces
lumicon 0111 & antares variable polarizing filters
12x50 binos
A love for this hobby
"What goes around comes around."
"She who must be obeyed."
Herb c
cloudy nights my # 1 site
43.53°n 79.17°w
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Mike I. Jones
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 07/02/06
Posts: 1103
Loc: Fort Worth TX
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Here's the other side of fireflies. We camped at Fort Richardson last weekend (south of Jacksboro TX) and had two beautifully clear nights. I was doing some 2 minute subs on Sagittarius with my 17-40mm f/4L lens and XSi, and there were so many fireflies there that I kept having to stop the exposures. Fireflies kept flying through the field of view! Here's one example, stopped at about a minute into the exposure. They are beautiful little bugs, and a nice astrophotography problem you don't mind having.
Mike
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56 mirrors, lenses, 16" f/6 Newt, 6" f/10 refractor, TOA-130S, Tinsley 5" f/15 Mak, 6" f/4 RFT, Coronado PST. Still to build: 24" f/10 Modified Dall-Kirkham, 10" f/26 Mak, 8" f/12 apo, spectrohelioscope, Herrig, Schupmann, and a new design you'll like.
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csa/montana
Astro Ambassador
Reged: 05/14/05
Posts: 28656
Loc: montana
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Mike, that is very cool!
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Carol
AstroTech 16" Dob (Thanks ASTRONOMICS!)
AstroTech 66ED / Vixen 80MF/AstroTech Voyager
Masuyama's 7.5, 15, 25W, 35mm,
Tak LE 5mm B/TMB 3.2
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ForgottenMObject
Post Laureate
Reged: 09/11/04
Posts: 3585
Loc: Maryland, US
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Nice and amusing photo!
A year or two ago, one firefly flew down inside my telescope (it's a reflector, so the front is open to the air) and lit up - wow, that was a surprise! He flew away unharmed after spooking this astronomer with a yellow-green flash!
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Matthew
IDA member
XT8i, 10x50 binoculars, lots of eyepieces
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