The lockdown has given us some new things to look at. We simply just have to look up! Over the last few weeks we’ve had meteor showers and a supermoon to look at. Due to Sky Pollution our skies weren’t as clear as they have been. But due to lockdown we’re able to see the sky exactly how it’s meant to be seen.
A brand new website has gone live called Under Lucky Stars which has documented what the world looks like without Sky Pollution. Who knew our skies were so pretty!? The site shows shots of cities around the world of what the sky looks like before and after sky pollution.
Bortle Scale
The cities on show are in metropolitan areas and class as 8-9 on the Bortle scale. The website shows what they look like on 1-2 of the scale.
Bortle Scale: A numeric scale consisting of 9 levels which quantifies the astronomical observability of the stars and any interference caused by light pollution.
According to Under Lucky Stars there’s 9,000 stars across the sky. While in most cities there are fewer than 100 that are visible. As 80% of the world’s population live under light polluted skies, not many of us get a chance to see them.
Moscow is the highest city on the Bortle scale. While London is also one of the worst affected by artificial light.
‘Surrounded by stars, planets and galaxies, we are just one part of a much bigger picture, but it’s impossible to see that in our metropolitan world,’
‘Light pollution has made the view blank, but getting a view of the stars in a city isn’t completely impossible. The trick is to plan ahead, get as high (or as far) as you can and remove any close sources of light.’
‘If you’re central, get as high as possible on buildings or alternatively, head to the outskirts to a darker, quieter area such as a park to improve your chances of seeing the stars,’
‘Give time for your eyes to adjust to the dark and choose a moonless night, binoculars can help too, you won’t be able to see the incredible view in these images, but it’s a start.’ Toth-Czifra from Under Lucky Stars
Don’t go to the outskirts of a city until after lockdown, stay safe, stay at home and enjoy the skies from home!
Play with the embedded gallery above to get a look at how your city looks!
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