Light Pollution

Last night was supposed to be a great night for watching the Perseid Meteor Shower. We went out a couple hours after sunset and checked out the sky from the yard, but no luck. Then we were out standing in our field. Didn’t help It was a beautiful night with a gorgeous sky full of stars, but no “shooting stars”.

We decided to try the driveway. Although there are a lot of big trees there, it’s a darker area. We did see a couple of meteors at first, but then nothing. I had quite a crick in my neck and decided to head inside.

I went back out about 1am to see if I’d have any better luck. I saw one really nice one right off, then a smaller one, then again, nothing.

Maybe I wasn’t looking in the right place, but I think it had more to do with the fact we have too much light pollution these days, so were only able to see the brightest meteors.

When we moved here I could go out in the fields and easily see and photograph fireflies, the moon and stars, and yes, we could see shooting stars too. Not any more.

What used to be a dark in-the-country sky here has become a suburban light display with dusk-to-dawn lights, porch lights, and even light pouring from windows. Although there’s about 3 acres between our farm and the new subdivision, it’s a pretty flat field, so there’s nothing to shield us from all that light. The night has became bright.

Sure wish we could get rid of all that light pollution. I miss the dark country nights.