Orkney’s Dark Night Skies? The possibility for Orkney to be “registered” as a dark sky area, aimed at the tourist market, has received some publicity recently. The British Astronomical Association formed its Campaign for Dark Skies Section (CfDS) in 1989. (Please go to the link below for full information.) Orkney has two CfDS representatives: Dennis Proudman on Stronsay and myself on Rousay. I first became concerned about light pollution as far back as 1952. Later, in 1957, I attempted to involve fellow astronomers both amateur and professional but without much success at the time. When I came to Orkney in the early 1970s in order to search for suitable auroral sites, light pollution here was a comparatively minor problem. Since then there has been a steady deterioration from a number of causes, including the expansion of Kirkwall followed closely by an increase in lighting from artificial sources generally, both on land and at sea throughout the isles (jetty lighting etc.). Orkney now faces even greater threats to its night skies from the “renewables” industry. Already sporadic work at the Fall of Warness off Eday can give light pollution on a massive scale (see Fig. 1). The wind turbines on Sanday sport bright red warning lights and no doubt wave energy conversion devices will likewise carry lighting of one kind or another. The time when one could see the Milky Way from horizon to horizon has long passed. Does all this really matter? Admittedly night sky gazing is a minority interest, but twenty-four lighting has other implications for species that are intrinsically diurnal. A great deal of the light that is sent skywards gets there through poor engineering practice. But local councils and their civil engineers are now more comncscious of these problems, thanks to the work of the BAA CfDS and other organizations. Although in general lighting from private properties is less troublesome than from industry and civic sources, this area is often more tricky for us to counter. In the main folk cooperate and will extinguish outside lighting when it is not required. But there are those who like to have their lights switched on throughout the dark hours and some who simply forget to switch them off! All of the above not withstanding, the one quite obvious drawback to offering Orkney as a winter visitor destination to observe the night sky is the prevalence of poor weather. Our records for the past forty years show that on average one may expect, over the period of an entire year, something like 16 occurrences when the sky might be clear from dusk to dawn. And the number of nights during which the transparency is sufficiently clear to enable one to see the faintest stars may be half this figure. Of course one does not deliberately set out to deter would-be visitors, we simply wish to appraise folk of the facts so as not to lead them into unreasonable expectations. Links: BAA CfDS at: http://www.britastro.org/dark-skies/ Select Committee on Science and Technology (light pollution) Written evidence from John (C) Vetterlein 2003 April 9: http://www.parliament.the-stationery-office.co.uk/pa/cm200203/cmselect/cmsctech/747/747we58.htm Note: The appearance of the sky is featured on a weekly basis on the “Sky View” page at the NORTHERN SKIES site: http://www.spanglefish.com/northernskies/index.asp?pageid=272557 Visitor Feedback. Also on NORTHERN SKIES is a VISITOR’S FORUM PAGE. Contributions can be made by accessing the GUEST’S PAGE. JV 30/3/11 |
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