Light Pollution Maps

Ignorance and apathy with respect to the problem of light pollution mean that our sky continues to be under threat, and whilst there is much noise made about CO2 emissions the mesage to turn off lights is slow to get through.  

Nevertheless, the news is not all bad and there does seem to be a growing awareness – and intrusive lighting is now be treated as a Statutory Nuisance (though the legislation should go further).   Meanwhile, we have to seek out the best spots for our Astronomy.   Philip’s published its Dark Skies map some time ago but I’d not seen anything as good on-line until Danny Tomas sent me a link to one of the most detailed on-line light pollution maps I have seen.

The map is available from the follwing URL:

 http://avex.org.free.fr/cartes-pl/uk/UK-pl-relief-topo.html

Even on broadband the map takes a while to download to it’s full resolution so give it time.

And there’s even more here: http://avex.org.free.fr/dossiers/?page_id=127 

If you are planning a holiday in  France, Germany or Spain light pollution maps of these countries are also available from this site in various resolutions – and there is a narrative available in English.  Again, these maps provide a level of detail that is at best indicative.

The Avex site also provides an interactive light pollution map using Google Earth (requuires the Google Earth browser plugin to be installed)

Some other useful light pollution resouces can be found here:

• CPRE Campaign against Light Pollution
• The night sky in the World – Satellite monitoring of the artificial night sky brightness and the stellar visibility (A European light pollution overlay for Google Earth is available from this site);
• Various articles  (available via Google)
• Need less Light Pollution Animations
• Need less night sky simulator