spending a week in paris, light pollution is bad, So bad in fact that I could only see one star at midnight. Remember the french who wants to be a millionaire? what orbits the Earth? well light pollution is the probable cause. Cant see the night sky, then no interest is generated

declanB)

That sounds like a good point Declan re: that tv show cock-up. Was the air hazy at all (like from air pollution), or just swamped by light pollution?

Seanie.

dmolloy wrote:

spending a week in paris, light pollution is bad

If you want to see bad lighting in Paris take a visit to the Eiffel tower at night!

i was reading an article a while ago that they were going to introduce a law in paris to get business to turn off lights out of hours. this is not to fight light pollution but to save energy so they do not have to buy as much oil for the power stations, so i guess there is some hope. what was really funny though was the comments of ordinary people on the article. some were complaining that the city would not look as pretty or that the government were sending them back to the stone age by turning off the lights. the reaction towards amateur astronomers who commented on the article was not very positive either, basically we're a bit wierd to be wanting to be out under a dark sky.

Cant make out if it is haze or light saturation Seanie, but there is for most residents in Paris, no night sky. anyway having a wonderful time (advice for anyone visiting the eiffel tower, "get the lift, dont use the stairs")

Declan