posted by
martyb
on Tuesday April 10 2018, @03:39PM
from the ignore-bright-lights-in-foreground dept.
from the ignore-bright-lights-in-foreground dept.
Photographers Gavin Heffernan and Harun Mehmedinovic of SKYGLOW have made and released a composited video to illustrate what New York City would look like if there were no light pollution blocking out the night sky.
The 3-minute video is in honor of the upcoming Dark Sky Week. Dark Sky Week is coming up from April 15th through the 21st this year. SKYGLOW is an ongoing project that raises awareness for endangered night skies and shows the dangers of light pollution.
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Timelapse Imagines NYC Without Light Pollution
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(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday April 10 2018, @03:59PM
Operson always had trouble understanding others. His failure to recognize what others' body language signified and his inability to grasp the hidden meaning behind their words caused significant stress for him. This was likely due to his autism. Perhaps this was why he couldn't find an answer to the question he had been pondering lately. That question was, "Why do the children scream?"
The heavily obese man thought about the question time and time again, but he could not find the answer. Operson loved children dearly; they were his favorites and he enjoyed playing with them. Operson also believed that the children loved him. So, then, why? Why did they scream when he played with them? As Operson sought out the answer, a snapping sound was heard; this caused the man to look downward. "Oops!" Operson said. The man had gotten distracted, and as a result, he accidentally became too rough and the child's small neck snapped. Yes, Operson loved children indeed.
"Oh, well. There are still three more here to play with!" the man said happily, as he looked towards the bound children. All of them were screaming, which mystified the man. Then, the answer to the question he had been seeking all along came to him! "They scream because they love me. They scream because they're having fun." the man said, in a tone that suggested he had discovered one of the world's hidden truths. Now he was truly excited. Operson began playing privates with the rest of the children. Three distinctive snapping sounds were heard that night, and those children never screamed again.
Operson, now incredibly sweaty, got up. It wasn't enough. It wasn't enough. It wasn't enough. He wanted to play more! Then, the man recalled that some nice people moved in down the street, and that they had a cute child. Operson's destination was set.
(Score: 0, Disagree) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday April 10 2018, @04:47PM
However, I've been in very dark locales, and the sky just ain't that great to the naked eye.
Only our bionic overlords will be able to enjoy a sky like that.
(Score: 4, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday April 10 2018, @04:57PM (4 children)
It doesn't illustrate what NYC would look like without light pollution, it illustrates what NYC would look like without light pollution to a long-exposure viewing, not a human.
Maybe parts of the video do in fact show what a human would see, but the lack of differentiation of the definately-only-visible-via-long-exposure parts of the video and the uncertain other parts lead me to believe they don't actually give a shit about informing people what it would look like to a human, but rather to drumming up support for their cause.
At best they are staggeringly foolish in assuming people know the sky wouldn't actually look like that, more likely they are intentionally misleading people.
What would NYC look like to a human eye without light pollution?
I'd sure love to know.
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday April 10 2018, @06:26PM (3 children)
You're right. It's #fakenews.
This is probably about the best for good vision human eyes: https://petapixel.com/2015/04/04/what-the-naked-eye-sees-in-the-night-sky-compared-to-what-the-camera-can-capture/ [petapixel.com]
And unless everyone goes about with night vision+AR goggles this is probably about the best you'd ever get for a city that still has people living in it: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-storm-sandy-blackoutcity/in-blackout-city-a-quieter-emptier-version-of-manhattan-idUSBRE89U1L620121031?feedType=RSS [reuters.com]
i.e. there will still be some light pollution somewhere.
On a related note: https://futurism.com/how-we-see-the-aurora-borealis-camera-vs-human-eyes-2/ [futurism.com]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oq6GO-i7t4Y [youtube.com]
(and I think most people's eyes wouldn't be quite as sharp as that at night).
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday April 10 2018, @06:39PM
I'll have to find time to get out to where I can see that for myself, it looks beautiful.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by takyon on Tuesday April 10 2018, @07:33PM
That would be a more interesting implementation of this idea: an AR app that superimposes stars on top of the night sky, while leaving buildings in place. It should be pretty easy to code since planetarium apps have been around for years and use a smartphone's accelerometers/gyroscopes/magnetometers to determine which part of the night sky the phone is pointing at.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 2) by frojack on Tuesday April 10 2018, @11:18PM
You just know its hype when TFS, and at least some of TFAs start using words like "endangered" and "the damage caused by ever increasing light pollution", without citing a single detrimental affect to humans or the environment.
If you aren't in the field of astronomy or astrophysics you might miss a comet or the northern lights if you live in NYC, (or any other big city or urban sprawl). But so what? As one of TFS's points out city dwellers are afraid to go out of their apartments when the power fails so it would seem the dangers are caused by darkness, not bright skys.
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(Score: 4, Informative) by canopic jug on Tuesday April 10 2018, @05:05PM (4 children)
The weird colors come from the long exposures but the amount of stars is about right. If you get far enough away from urban settings, especially high up where the air is thin, there are so many stars it is hard to sort them out and find even prominent constellations. Even down at sea level there is a similar effect. Or once was and could be again. Haze is not as much a problem as the spill from the excessive number of outdoor lights, especially the parking lots. The Milky Way is quite something to see.
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(Score: 3, Interesting) by Kilo110 on Tuesday April 10 2018, @05:30PM (3 children)
As an east coast resident, I've never truly seen the night sky until I camped out 12k ft on a mountain far from any lights or pollution. Seeing the Milky Way left me awestruck. I still can't describe it well.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday April 10 2018, @07:27PM (1 child)
Story is, when the Northridge earthquake hit California, people called emergency services asking if the strange light in the sky was the cause of the earthquake. With the power out, and all the light pollution gone, they were seeing the Milky Way for the first time, and did not know what it was. True story! Real (old) news!
(Score: 2) by frojack on Tuesday April 10 2018, @11:28PM
Actually they were seeing lights caused by the earthquake. Read NEW news. The old news if full of witchcraft and nonsense.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earthquake_light [wikipedia.org]
https://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/01/140106-earthquake-lights-earthquake-prediction-geology-science/ [nationalgeographic.com]
https://www.forbes.com/sites/trevornace/2017/09/08/8-2-earthquake-strikes-mexico-produces-mysterious-bright-flashes-light/#271260e63868 [forbes.com]
No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday April 10 2018, @07:51PM
I've seen the Milky Way in the night sky once on a camping trip in High School. I agree it was amazing, to the point I didn't know what I was seeing until I finally realized what it was. I haven't seen it since due to where I've lived and the amount of light at night. I've got to make a point to see it again at some point.
(Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday April 10 2018, @05:16PM (1 child)
The video shows all of the same city lights that exist today, but magically the night sky is visible.
(Score: 2) by bob_super on Tuesday April 10 2018, @05:50PM
You didn't get your retinas upgraded to hypergain-HDR with triple-band noise filter? What kind of ass-backwards planet did I just land on?
I'll leave you an EMP blast on the way out. Enjoy your nights!
(Score: 2) by Thexalon on Tuesday April 10 2018, @07:34PM (1 child)
Specifically, during major power outages, like the 2003 Northeast Blackout.
But yes, the difference between the night sky in rural areas and major cities is very noticeable. Heck, I'm a bit annoyed because even about 60 miles out from my city center, I still can't really see the Milky Way, whereas in rural areas it's very very obvious.
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(Score: 2) by frojack on Tuesday April 10 2018, @11:35PM
Even in city wide blackouts you don't see the same sky as in rural or wilderness areas. Too much actual pollution as opposed to "light pollution".
No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.