gutfreund%umass-cs@UDel-Relay@sri-unix.UUCP (08/16/83)
From: Steven Gutfreund <gutfreund%umass-cs@UDel-Relay> News Item: San Diego decides to go ahead (against Palomar astronomers' wishes) and install street lighting that will "significantly" degrade viewing at the Palomar obserbatory. The town insists on using high pressure sodium lights that give off a "peachy" color. They say that the low pressure sodium lights are yellow looking and make people look like cadavers under their light. The astronomers say that the current mercury lights only emit along about 7 distinct frequencies, and that gives them room to work around. They would perfer the City to go with the low pressure sodium lights that would only emit on 1 frequency. The high pressure sodium lights emit across the entire spectrum and present a wall to astronomers that they cannot work around. [I may have gotton some of the numbers wrong here, perhaps someone with the NYT clipping service can provide the complete article] - Steven Gutfreund