Two stars in the handle of an inverted dipper of four stars in the cup, plus another: the seven stars of the Pleiades. I’ve never been able to look straight at them and see them all clearly before. Going outside near Otorohanga in New Zealand near midnight, the Milky Way was also visible as layer upon layer of stars, from the blue white points of Sirius and Procyon like mature glowworm larvae to constellation-drawing stars to sand grains and silt, all the way to the southern cross.

The brightest skyglow occured when Venus was about to set in the west and went behind a cloud.

This is a bit different from what we’re used to in the states, where every house seems to have to have a bright light on a pole. Such lights actually destroy night vision so the homeowner can’t see anybody who might be lurking in the shadows, run up the electrical bill, distract drivers, and of course add light pollution so you can’t see the stars.

This seems a bit like traditional Internet security: put up a bright light that shows when somebody has already broken in or you’re already disconnected, while doing little or nothing to see farther out or prevent the problems in the first place.

Sure, it’s useful to have some sort of outside or entryway light. A dim amber light works much better than a bright halogen light, because you can see further due to night vision adaptation. A light that’s on a switch so you can turn it on when you need it, or, even better, a light that turns on when it senses motion does the job even more effectively, and cost-effectively. Plus if the light is pointed down, not up, it avoids light pollution.

Similarly, Internet observations that look out and that are coordinated can help prevent, predict, and ameliorate problems.

-jsq