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By James Pugsley
Astronomy North
(YELLOWKNIFE, NWT) A curious young skywatcher
recently asked me if light pollution was becoming
a problem in Yellowknife.
She wanted an enlightening opinion. I offered
a boring one.
"No," I said. "Not really."
Lifelong northerners tell stories of much darker
nights, where auroras and stars were easily
seen above Franklin Avenue. Today most backyard
views in the city are modest at best, with only
a few dozen stars penetrating the glare of new
development.
Indeed,
Yellowknife is growing and glowing like never
before, but the outlook
isn't as bad as you may think. In fact, recent
energy-saving changes to streetlamps in the
capital are actually worthy of a glowing review.
My curious friend was puzzled, so I revealed
a few key details.
I engaged in my first local light pollution
fact-finding
mission, in 2003 for the benefit of local businesses
and my fellow stargazers. I was keen to find
out what City Hall had been doing to keep the
capital's infamous aurora-filled skies from
drowning in light.
J.
Pugsley / Astronomy North
MONITORING THE GLOW • Taken from approximately
the same spot only a few minutes from downtown,
these photos show Yellowknife's glow. Notice
the bright pillars of light from misguided
mercury lamps. |
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What
I discovered was pleasantly and surprisingly
positive.
The City was in the middle of an energy-saving
operation to cut costs and reduce light
pollution at the same time.
Well,
that's my twist anyway. In reality, the
good folks at City Hall had never even
heard of light pollution, and simply wanted
to save taxpayers a few bucks by
switching the old mercury vapour streetlamps
to lamps with new 150 Watt high-pressure
sodium bulbs and focused fixtures.
Northland Utilities, entrusted with monitoring
and maintaining Yellowknife streetlights,
deserves plenty of credit for recommending
a reduction in the city's harsh glow.
Don't get me wrong, there is still an
unwelcome dome of light above the capital,
but things could be a lot worse. Mercury
vapour bulbs release menacing
bluish-white beams bright enough to reflect
off snowy surfaces, resulting in an overflow
of light pollution.
Had the City not changed the bulbs, this
dome would be much larger and certainly
more wasteful than it is today.
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Which
leads us to the biggest question of all, what
should astronomy clubs be doing to improve the
sky?
Well, my astute young friend knows how important
it is to protect the skies in order to prevent
the extinction of stargazing. But skywatchers
know the best argument to reduce light pollution
is economical, not astronomical.
Let's face it, when a community is booming,
the last thing on anyone's mind is the impact
of a misguided streetlamp upon the local astronomy
club.
We can only hope that Yellowknife might be an
exception, but let's not push it.
Instead, it's time to remind fellow citizens
that few other communities on Earth have ever
harnessed the economic potential of their skies.
The aurora tourism here attracts thousands of
visitors and millions of dollars to the north
every year. Our message is clear: in Yellowknife,
darker skies can lead to a brighter economy.
J.
Pugsley / Astronomy North
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So
today, with City Hall already taking a few
steps forward, our challenge is to show
private polluters the additional benefits
of eliminating or modifying any lights that
are unnecessarily bright or simply unnecessary.
And no matter how bright or dark things
get, it's best to look on the bright side
– even after two decades of development,
it still takes only a few minutes to escape
city lights and enjoy one of the world's
darkest skies. |
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NIGHT
FALLS • A photo of Niagara Falls
in January shows just how serious light
pollution can be. By comparison, Yellowknife
is still a skywatcher's paradise.
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