evans@mhuxt.UUCP (crandall) (07/17/85)
Sky and Telescope has done several articles on light pollution - notably July, 1980 and Feb, 1978. It is mentioned that a careful study by the National Institue of Law ENforcement and Criminal Justice cancluded: "while there is no statistically significant evidence that street lighting impacts the level of crime, especially if crime displacement is taken into account, there is a STRONG indication that increased lighting - perhaps lighting uniformity - decreases the fear of crime. Thus street lighting may serve simnply to foster a false sense of security." It seems J Edgar Hoover was one of the strongest proponents of intensified lighting -:) If one wants to play with the statistics you can note that 20% of the crimes occur on the 2% of brightly lit streets. The article goes on to talk about "raw" lighting vs effective illumination (lamp placement, type, reflectors etc.) and recommends some sources: Chicago Tribune Aug. 27, 1978 and The Wall Street Journal Jan 12, 1979 More recent info would come from the San Diego and San Jose papers (low pressure sodium lights) GE is one of the major outfits opposing such lamps as they prefer to promote their low efficiency spectrally dirty high pressure sodium lamps. Steve Crandall ihnp4!mhuxt!evans Note I find the very bright high pressure sodium lamps ruins my night vision to the point where I can't see anything in the shadows. If I were a criminal I that I would prefer going after night blinded people rather than night adapted people.
peterb@pbear.UUCP (07/23/85)
>>I would also suggest looking at the ratio of street lights vs crime. >>... >>I think I would gladly pay the bill for an extra street light or two, >>and I would consider it fairly cheap insurance. > >Good point, Brian. However, I think I'll remain "out in the country" >(such as it is in New Jersey) where the sky is black at night. >Well, except for the whole eastern horizon! >-- >{most Action Central sites}!kitc!jtb I agree. Unless you have been far from the city, you won't believe how much light pollution affects astral viewing!!! Just for the fun of it, I took my Celeston 5" down to Nantucket Island(which is 26 miles from MA) and set it up one clear night and then shut off the light I was using and started looking for landmarks I was used to seeing here around Boston. My mind flipped since I couldn't find any since MANY more stars were visible. It took effort to find the little dipper and polaris, along with leo and the crab. I set up RA on polaris and declanation from the clock, and had to work my way around the sky by the dials since there were far too many stars visible to determine my few landmarks visually. Also the Milky Way was fantastic! a long HIGHLY visible strands of star fields made it a sight to behold. If you ever get to Nantucket, gaze on the stars on a clear night and behold what light pollution makes you miss. Peter Barada {ihnp4!inmet|{harvard|cca}!ima}!pbear!peterb
badovin@utah-cs.UUCP (Peter Badovinatz) (08/01/85)
Salt Lake is located in a large valley (about 25 miles in each direction) and is a very brightly lit city. Combined with the surrounding mountain ranges (4000 to 7000 foot vertical rise from a valley altitude of 4500 feet) which reflect the light, it is almost impossible to see a star from the valley floor. BUT, there are numerous canyons along the Wasatch Mountains. In 10 minutes driving I can be at 7000 feet with the mountains blocking the lights of the city. On a clear mountaintop you can see forever. You can reach out and touch the moon. The stars are bright enough to burn holes in your eyes... The place is called Little Mountain, Star Parties every Friday night, weather permitting. Peter R Badovinatz ARPA: badovinatz@utah-20 Univ of Utah CS Dept UUCP: ...!utah-cs!badovin