Individually, I love you all with affection unspeakable; but collectively I look upon you with a disgust that amounts to absolute detestation. -The Pirates of Penzance (1879)
I think one big reason why we don't consider the stars as important as before (not even pop-astrology anymore cares about the stars or the sky on itself, just the signs deprived of context) is because of light pollution.
For most of human history the sky looked between 1-3, 4 at most. And then all of a sudden with electrification it was gone (I'm lucky if I get 6 in my small city). The first time I saw the Milky Way fully as a kid was a spiritual experience, I was almost scared on how BRIGHT it was, it felt like someone was looking back at me. You don't get that at all with modern light pollution.
When most people talk about stargazing nowadays they think about watching about a couple of bright dots. The stars are really, really not like that. The unpolluted night sky is a festival of fireworks. There is nothing like it.
this is confusing me bc I grew up on a farm in the middle of nowhere in the midwest, only farmland for miles and it has NEVER even looked close to 3. it was always at 6 MAX if there were no clouds at all. this does not feel right or accurate
This is a map of light pollution in the US. As you can see, nearly the entire midwest is lit up. Even the most rural location in the midwest is still too bright to see the milky way.
High up in the mountains in Colorado, I’ve seen the real night sky, and it’s a truly magical experience that everyone should have.
It was like a dome, curving around the horizon. Through some optical illusion, I felt like I could just reach out and touch the sky and it was always just out of reach. It was so incredibly bright, and yet the light didn’t reach the ground. There was nothing down here and everything up there.
It’s up there, and it’s amazing, truly beautiful beyond compare and our modern lighting has robbed us of it.
I'm from the Midwest, but I'm also old (very solidly GenX.) When I was little, growing up outside a small town, skies were easily 5-6. I could clearly see the Milky Way. Coming back from Indianapolis one night when I was in high school, I looked out the car window and was amazed because the sky was a solid 4.
Then more and more of our neighbors started installing dusk-to-dawn security lights. The neighbors with farms installed multiple security lights.
I have seen people comment on light pollution posts before in ways that indicates that they think light pollution travels and drifts the way air pollution does. This is incorrect. Light pollution happens over the light source, spreading only as much as the light itself naturally spreads as it leaves the source. Someplace rural that has a lot of all-night unshielded security lights is going to pollute the sky above those sources. In my experience, isolated Midwestern farms for the last 30 years have become significant individual light sources themselves.
I have also seen comments on light pollution where people think the only way to counter it is to turn off all lights at night, leading to issues connected with total darkness. This is also incorrect. Turn off the lights we don't need--signs on stores when the stores aren't open, office buildings with unshaded windows that stay fully lit all night when no-one is there*, exterior house lights on all night when the people living there never leave the house after dark**--and make the lights we do need have light that is directed where we need it, instead of shining up into the sky.***
I know there are people who say things like "The city council and business leaders don't care about seeing the majesty of the night sky," but that also ignores the simple fact that more efficient use of night time light will save cities and businesses money on their electric bills, so it's to their benefit, too, in addition to overall reduction in energy usage.
Also, do you know what 24 hour light exposure does to plants, and how that impacts the food chain? Here's a different set of concerns. And another. Here's one not from the US. It's really not just about the stars.
*Because I have seen people try to use it as an argument before: this does not include turning on lights for custodial work at night. Maintenance can be accomplished without the entire building being fully illuminated from dusk to dawn.
**I do understand people leave their exterior lights on all night as a security measure. However, if the lights are on a daylight sensor, anyone casing the place can easily observe long enough to figure that out; motion sensors and timers give more of an appearance of someone actively turning lights on, and more importantly to this discussion, off.
The bigger indication that someone is home, and therefore the house is not worth the risk of breaking into, is light activity inside the house, which can also be simulated with timers if no-one is home. Additionally, break-ins are slightly more likely to happen during the day, when not only is the house unoccupied, but all the neighbors are probably also at school and work and running errands, so there are less likely to be witnesses.
*** To be thorough: there are indeed some situations where lights do need to point into the sky, like airports and helicopter landing pads. I only bring this up because someone once tried to argue that fighting light pollution by making sure lights don't shine into the sky was pointless because it included airports. Again, light pollution does not travel far, and there aren't actually that many 24 hour airports in the entire world. Turning off the store sign lights overnight at the suburban mega strip malls is going to make more of a difference.
I love going viral on tumblr.com. It’s like if you stood in a field and said some of the stupidest shit a human being is capable of and then like fifty thousand crows attacked you
Spicetify for Windows, Linux and MacOS not only has plugins for ad removal but for modifying your Spotify client and customizing it to your liking.
iOS users can also sideload modded Spotify apps for free if they have a computer. It comes with every premium benefit except listening offline/offline downloads since that’s server-side. No jailbreaking required. Do it with Sideloadly.
Also I’m unsure of the validity of the first link. I’d be careful with that one, I’ve never heard of the website before. I’d recommend just using xManager if you’re on android. It’s a much more trusted source.
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