Strange skies tonight.....

reply to post by FireballStorm


Actually, not true. There would be more coming from that way, from PEI and the bridge. The bridge can be seen by the naked eye a lot of nights, even though it is far as hell away. It is closer to me than the city of moncton which is in roughly the other direction.

reply to post by TKDRL


Not knowing the location, I think I could be forgiven for not knowing that there was an artificially lit bridge etc "out at sea". In general though, its usually the case that there is significantly less light pollution, when you look out to sea, compared with looking inland, if you are in a populated area.

I think the question to ask here then is - is there any reason why it could not be light pollution?

As an astrophotographer of nearly one and a half decades now, who has photographed the stars from many locations (including overseas), I'd consider myself to be much more aware of event the slightest hint of it than most, and there are very few places that are free of it in my experience, except for some very remote locations.

Certainly there are no true dark-sky observing sites within 100 miles of an major population center on the West coast where you are, although if you head inland towards the interior, and north, there are some.

See this light pollution map here to get an idea of where the most light polluted areas are.

At the end of the day, we can all theorize on what may or may not be causing it, but if you want to find out with some degree of certainty what is causing it, you'll probably have to try an experiment/do some legwork.

My suggestions would be:

1. Go out after dark and head towards where the glow seems to be strongest. Look out in particular for the kind of street (and other) lighting used in the area. Sodium vapor lights are distinctly orange in colour, and should be easy to spot - get up to a high vantage point if you can.

2. Beg borrow or steal a DSLR + tripod and a wide angle lens if you can. A DSLR will easily pick up the faintest of light sources given a long enough exposure (hence the need for a tripod). Even if it's not light pollution, you'd have a high quality photographic record of the phenomena. I'd be more than happy to talk you through it should you choose to go this route.

ive posted in previous threads as well about the same phenomenon.. im in SW ontario.
i took a pic of it tonight... but on my cell phone so its not very sharp.. but the colours are fairly accurate~




hoping the pic worked.. first time uploading one on this site~

reply to post by mandms33


That is exactly what artificial light pollution looks like in a photograph in my experience.

I've spent nearly one and a half decades trying to get away from it in order to try to photograph the night sky without the unnatural muddy red washed out look shown in the above photograph, but I only live on a small island, and virtually nowhere is free from it.

You could photograph that same scene (near enough) in any developed country around the world.

I am not saying that it cannot be light pollution, but if it was, I just think it's odd I wouldn't see the effects more often if that was the case. I never seen the sky looking like that, and I do look a lot.

I do not photo night skies, I might if I had a pro camera though, I love stargazing. Compared to new york the skies here are amazing, that is for sure. One of my favorite things to do in the summer at night is lay on the beach looking for shooting stars

Originally posted by TKDRL
I am not saying that it cannot be light pollution, but if it was, I just think it's odd I wouldn't see the effects more often if that was the case. I never seen the sky looking like that, and I do look a lot.

How noticeable it is depends on various factors, especially if there is unusually low cloud about, or if there is lots of haze/mist, the light is scattered and reflected back to your eyes. So yes, it sounds like there is only just enough pollution to be very visible, under the right conditions. It might be that they are lights on private property that are only used at certain times though I guess.

Originally posted by TKDRL
I do not photo night skies, I might if I had a pro camera though, I love stargazing. Compared to new york the skies here are amazing, that is for sure. One of my favorite things to do in the summer at night is lay on the beach looking for shooting stars

Watching meteor showers is also one of my favorite things to do, as you might have guessed from my choice of nick name. It sounds like you are in an almost ideal place to do it.

This year should be a good year for the August Perseids since the moon will be out of the way, if you did not already know. Hope you get nice clear skies over there