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Fdsc Master
- 2. To Celebrate, Promote and Protect the Glorious Starry Skies of Northern Arizona
- 35. Flagstaff
- 36. STARGAZING NETS $250 MIL A YEAR FOR AZ ECONOMY The sun, moon, stars and all the galaxies are showering Arizona with about $250 million in benefits a year. That's the estimated annual economic boost that the astronomy, space and planetary-science fields bring to the state from salaries, purchases, tourists, visiting scientists and construction, according to a study released by the Arizona Arts, Sciences and Technology Academy… THE ISSUE: LIGHT POLLUTION Arizona has black gold. Not oil. Darkness. The inky nights in this mountainous, desert state are worth big bucks. Astronomy is a big and growing field here. It brings government contracts, attracts outside researchers and spurs related industries, such as optics. Starry nights are part of our tourist appeal: How many Arizonans have heard out-of-state visitors marvel over a far clearer view than they can get at home? National parks report a growing interest in nighttime activities, not only stargazing but also wildlife viewing.
Editor's Notes
- The Flagstaff Dark Skies Coalition was formed in 1998.
- FDSC “celebrates promotes, and protects the glorious dark skies of Flagstaff and Northern Arizona.”
- Under comprehensive lighting codes that have been in place since 1989, Flagstaff now emits about 20% less light into the sky -- light pollution -- than the average urban area per capita in the United States.
- FDSC is a “section” of the International Dark-sky Association -- the IDA -- based in Tucson. In 2001 the IDA designated Flagstaff the world’s first -- and still only -- International Dark Sky City.
- Flagstaff’s high elevation and many still, cloud-free nights gives it excellent “seeing,” the actual term used by astronomers for the ability to view the night sky. In 1894 -- when Arizona was still a Territory and Flagstaff had less than 1000 people -- the townspeople deeded wealthy Bostoner Percival Lowell a hill immediately west of town and built him a wagon road to the top. Lowell brought his famous Clark telescope west and went to work to prove that there was life on Mars from atop, of course, Mars Hill.
- Percival Lowell never got much respect in the world of professional astronomy for his fixation with life on Mars, but in 1930 -- 14 years after Lowell’s death -- Lowell Observatory made its most famous discovery. Using a 30-inch refracting telescope configured as a camera and a search strategy based on Percival Lowell’s calculations, observer Clyde Tombaugh discovered Pluto. Since then Pluto has been demoted to the status of “dwarf planet,” but the fact remains that it was the first planet discovered telescopically outside of Europe and it put Flagstaff on the map.
- Flagstaff continued to attract astronomy and astronomers. In 1952 the Atmospheric Research Observatory was established on the south campus ofNAU -- then Arizona State College -- by former Lowell astronomer Arthur Adel.
- The big prize was the U.S. Naval Observatory Flagstaff Station. In 1955 their 61-inch reflector telescope telescope was moved to a site a few miles west of Flagstaff when light pollution in Washington DC rendered it unusable at that location. The Flagstaff station is now the US Naval Observatory's dark-sky site for optical and near-infrared astronomy.
- In conjunction with Lowell, the US Naval Observatory also built the Navy Prototype Optical Interferometer (NPOI), located on Anderson Mesa some 15 miles south of the Flagstaff.
- By combining multiple images across a large area, an optical interferometer effectively creates a very large telescope. To date NPOI has produced the highest resolution optical images of any astronomical instrument, about 8 times the resolution of the Hubble Space Telescope.
- Forty miles southeast of Flagstaff, atop a cinder cone at a site known as Happy Jack, the 4.2-meter Discovery Channel Telescope is under construction. Developed by Lowell Observatory in partnership with Discovery Communications, the DCT will be operational in 2010. It will be a powerful tool for research areas including the search for Near Earth Objects (NEOs), extrasolar planets, and exploration of the newly discovered Kuiper Belt where Pluto is located. It will also expand opportunities for public outreach and education in the exciting world of science and technology.
- Even as Flagstaff was becoming more and more important in the world of astronomy its population and attendant light pollution grew, local astronomers became particularly concerned about the impact of advertising search lights.
- Dr. Hall proposed a solution. He campaigned for a city ordinance to protect Flagstaff astronomy from searchlights. With the help of Lowell’s acting director, Dr. E.C. Slipher, the ordinance was passed on April 15, 1958. We believe that this action -- more than 50 years ago -- was the world’s first regulation specifically designed to combat light pollution, and we at the Flagstaff Dark Skies Coalition celebrate that date as the beginning of the dark skies movement.
- 50 years to the day later, Lowell Observatory and FDSC presented the city with a photographic portrait of a starry night over the peaks.
- The same day this picture was chosen as NASA’s Astronomy Picture of the Day and featured on its website (apod.nasa.gov).
- In those 50 years there have been lots of ups and downs involving many Flagstaff dark sky lovers. Two in particular deserve special recognition -- Wes Lockwood, a recently retired astronomer at Lowell, and Chris Luginbuhl, a very much unretired astronomer at the US Naval Observatory. They, more than anyone, are responsible for developing the comprehensive ordinances for Flagstaff and Coconino County that were the first to restrict both type of light and amount of light per acre. Today they are used as models for lighting ordinances being adopted around the world today.
- As for me, I’m not an astronomer. I think I can only recognize about five constellations. But I have oved the night sky since me childhood in once-dark western Massachusetts, and soon after I moved to Flagstaff 18 years ago two comets showed up -- Hale-Bopp in 1995 (It was visible to the naked eye for an astonishing 18 months)…
- … and the so-called Great Comet of 1996, Hyakutake. I was living about 8 miles north of Flagstaff at the time and was profoundly impressed by theses astonishing celestial events.
- I think others were reminded of the loss of the night skies to light pollution in their lifetimes by these comets, and in 1998 Chris (top middle) and I (far right) and Lance Diskan (center-kneeling) started the Coalition.
- Our first action was to march in the 1998 Fourth of July parade. We were amazed by the enthusiasm of the crowd for our cause.
- In 2000 we kicked off our first major public education and awareness effort with our Stars Up/Lights Down Campaign.
- In October and November of that year we held our first Celebration of the Night, a five-week series of dark skies events and an art exhibition, NightVisions.
- In 2002 we launched the Million Lumens Campaign to help Flagstaff area businesses upgrade their obsolete lighting by offering rebates on replacement fixtures and lighting design costs.
- In 2006, Smithsonian Magazine took notice, and sponsored a series of events as part of their statewide Culturefest series. Besides the return of NightVisions, a theatre/dance performance was commissioned and internationally known musicians Liz Story and Steve Roach performed.
- Part of the coalition’s mission is not only to lead by example, but to spread the word at every opportunity about the benefits of reducing or eliminating unnecessary light pollution.
- Sometimes we don’t even know it’s coming. In November of 2008 National Geographic make the dark skies movement its cover story, and Flagstaff’s 50-year history of leadership was featured.
- By now everyone has seen this picture created from satellite and ground data. This one is from 1996-97, and the situation is even worse today. Based on calculations, two-thirds of humanity lives under skies polluted with light, and one-fifth can no longer see the Milky Way.
- In 1908 dark countryside surrounded Los Angeles and Pasadena, combined population 350,000, in a view from Mount Wilson. In a 2008 view from a nearby vantage, a mushrooming populace nearing five million fills the same valley, creating a sea of brightness.
- The Northeast Blackout of 2003 was a massive widespread power outage that occurred throughout parts of the Northeastern and Midwestern United States, and Ontario, Canada on August 14, 2003. At the time, it was the most widespread electrical blackout in history. The blackout affected an estimated 10 million people in the Canadian province of Ontario and 45 million people in eight U.S. states. The picture on the left was taken during the blackout. The picture on the right was taken after power was restored.
- Some day we will look at pictures like this one of Toronto taken last year and wonder what in the world we were thinking. Not only is it an absurd waste of energy…
- But there are many unintended consequences as well. These dead birds were collected over three months in Toronto and displayed for a school group at the Royal Ontario Museum. They total over 1,000 birds of 89 species.
- The Fatal Light Awareness Program (FLAP) saves the lives of many thousands of birds that are injured flying into brightly lit buildings in Toronto. Brian Armstrong, a volunteer for FLAP, collects a yellow-bellied sapsucker that didn’t make it. "Most of the birds we pick up downtown are the victims of predawn collisions," he notes. "Killing more lights in skyscrapers would save money and reduce pollution, so it would benefit all parties. Especially the birds."
- Chicago is no better, but awareness of unnecessary light pollution is building. Los Angeles has replaced almost all of its steetlights with fully shielded types, and articles have appeared in both the New Yorker and the New York Times, resulting in a campaign to turn out office lights at night in Manhattan.
- Rural areas can be major sources of pollution as well. Ski areas are particularly bad, since light reflecting off snow can significantly increase the amount that gets into the sky.
- The southwest tends to have some of the darkest skies in the country, but pollution from Los Angeles, Phoenix and Las Vegas affects night skies more than 100 miles away. Phoenix lights have become a significant concern for Flagstaff astronomers.
- The Flagstaff 40, an organization of top Flagstaff business leaders, is part of a statewide campaign to raise awareness of the contributions made to the state’s economy by astronomy and dark-sky tourism.
- The coalition is working with the City to dramatically change the after-dark look of Flagstaff. When Taco Bell decided to remodel their restaurant the City of Flagstaff insisted on dark-sky friendly lighting. The company got into the spirit and created a special design just for Flagstaff.
- So what exactly are we talking about here? What is dark-sky friendly lighting? It’s really not rocket science.
- Once you start to look at outdoor lighting, it becomes clear that much of what’s out there isn’t doing the job. Here’s a parking lot all lit up by a giant light. Should you feel safe walking across this parking lot?
- Here’s a gas station, absolutely flooded with bright white light. What’s wrong with that?
- Here’s a station lit under the current Flagstaff lighting code. Any difference in safety, security or visibility?
- The greatest threat to visibility isn’t too little light, but glare -- light shining directly into your eyes.
- Simply shielding the light do that it doesn’t glare in people’s eyes makes a dramatic difference in visibility.
- Concerned about security, many homeowners install bright lights on the sides of their houses. How’s the visibility here?
- But the resulting glare usually reduces visibility both by blinding the observer (you) and creating shadows for the perpetrator to hide in.
- People often site security as their primary reason for throwing more and more light onto the situation. But it’s not the quantity of light that make the difference, it’s the quality. Here’s a place in Flagstaff with the highest priority on security - the jail. It has won an international lighting award for it’s 100% fully shielded lighting.
- The other big concern, of course, is safety. The other Flagstaff lighting award winner is the Flagstaff Medical Center, which also recognized that good visibility is essential to safety. No lights shine in anybody’s eyes at our wonderful hospital.
- Lighting code and sign codes go hand in glove. Flagstaff signs have dark backgrounds. Not only are they highly visible and readable, they are much more attractive than the typical colored letters on a white background.
- A couple of years ago the City of Flagstaff decided to rebuilt its athletic fields and redo the lighting. This had particular significance since the fields are at the base of Mars Hill and the lights lit up the side of Clark Dome. Percival was undoubtedly turning over in his grave.
- Here’s one of the fields with the new lighting. Visibility for the players is much greater, while light pollution has been dramatically reduced. William Lowell Putnam, Percival’s grandson and the Observatory’s sole trustee, was so delighted that he gave the city $20,000 to do the same for the tennis courts.
- In recent years the city of Flagstaff has taken its code very seriously, especially when a new business is built or an existing business is remodeled. The city not only makes sure the lighting meets code, but also provides good visibility and and even looks good.
- You may be wondering by now how you can make a difference where you live. As my favorite president, Calvin Coolidge, once said, “ We cannot do everything at once, but we can do something at once.”
- Here’s a great start - your porch light. Chances are, you have one of these…
- Or one of these…People generally call them carriage lights - we call them “brass and glass.”
- I get a kick out of carriage lights. In fact, this is my all-time favorite lighting picture. There are two carriage lights in the picture, one mounted on the carriage and the other on the wall. Are they serving the same purpose. Which one is good lighting, I.e., the right amount of light in the right place at the right time?
- So when you go home take a look at your own porch lights. Can you see the bare bulb? Is it shining directly in your eyes? If it is, it’s also probably shining in your neighbor’s eyes too, and annoying the heck out of him.
- The best thing you can do -- “something at once” -- is to replace that brass and glass or jelly jar porch light with an attractive fully-shielded fixture like this. You will be amazed at how much better you will be able to see, and your neighbor will be amazed at what a great neighbor you have suddenly become. Generally speaking, you will be able to half the wattage of the bulb -- good for your electric bill.
- Here’s what it looks like with the fully-shielded fixtures.
- When it comes to working with your friends and neighbors, and with local government, that’s really pretty easy too.
- Step 1. Get a group together. I conveniently brought a sign-up sheet. I’ll pass it around.
- Step 1. Get a group together. I conveniently brought a sign-up sheet. I’ll pass it around.
- Step 1. Get a group together. I conveniently brought a sign-up sheet. I’ll pass it around.
- Step 1. Get a group together. I conveniently brought a sign-up sheet. I’ll pass it around.
- Step 1. Get a group together. I conveniently brought a sign-up sheet. I’ll pass it around.
- Step 1. Get a group together. I conveniently brought a sign-up sheet. I’ll pass it around.
- Step 1. Get a group together. I conveniently brought a sign-up sheet. I’ll pass it around.
- And most of all, have fun!
- Everybody likes people who are making a positive difference and having fun at the same time.