Recreation: Astronomy

Space. The final frontier... Well, that may be true, but I don't see us (humans) tackling it any time soon. In my opinion, we have lost a lot of that explorer drive which drove us to all corners of the Earth and beyond. Now, it seems as if the only purpose that we have for going is to see if ants can sort tiny screws in space (Simpsons reference). Well, that and "climate science," which is 1 part science, 99 parts conjecture, supposition, and S.W.A.G. At risk of turning this into a post about Global Warming, it bugs me when people use a handful of years of data to say that we are making an irreparable negative impact on our global climate system. It also bugs me when people use a slightly different handful of years of data to say that we are having no impact on our climate system. It's akin to taking a single photo of a bunch of kids playing trampoline dodge ball and predicting, with absolute certainty, what kind of car that one of their great, great, great, grandson's talking pet chickogasaurus (cross between chicken, dog, and recreated dinosaur DNA) super-evolved tapeworm will fly.

So, Space. I have a passing interest in space things. I regularly watch the internet for astronomical events. I look up at the sky anytime I am outside at night. I'll even break out my telescope a couple times per year to take a look at Jupiter or Saturn or Mars. There's a "new" comet in the sky starting now and extending into next month. It is visible in "dark sky" conditions now and should be for the next 2 months or so. Of course, "dark sky" is the critical term. Based on its recent brightening, it's possible that it will become a fully naked-eye observable object from all clear sky conditions. However, my guess is that most urban and suburban locations will require binoculars or will just be SOL. All due to lack of dark sky and it makes me sad.

The waning interest in space exploration (including those aforementioned climate science probes) seems directly linked to the ability of people seeing the sky at night. In the ever-constant push to be more "green", we are encouraged to change to energy efficient lighting for the benefit of the planet. How about we start pushing to turn off the lights. To me, it is incomprehensible that some of the most "green" parts of the World are literally glowing bright enough to be seen from space. We have night sky conditions which range between limited to totally unobservable. Closed stores and car dealerships are lighting up whole city blocks. Street lights shine in all directions lighting up the ground, the sky and the interior of the front of my house. Meanwhile, I can't even point out the Big Dipper to my kids because the North sky is a diffuse, glowing gray-orange color. So much for my kids becoming astronauts or astrophysicists. So, for the good of the climate of the World or the future of space exploration or the reduced electric bill or just for the sheer enjoyment of the stars, please, please, please turn off your lights.