Will amateur astronomy die?

I live in a small village in Laois - thats quickly growing (oceans of Semi - D) It breaks my heart every time a new street light is commisioned. But there is little I can do. I am already regarded as a bit of a treehugger when I mention the whole light pollution issue - and people generally move down the bar away from me in my local...Anyway enough self pity!

I believe there is a rough formula on how to judge your level of seeing (light pollution in your area) something to do with visible stars in Peguses? does anyone know what I'm on about?

Declan

"he who laughts last is a half wit..."

I am an optimist. I personally feel that as long as telescopes etc are for sale and we can all find a bit of sky to observe.............the hobby will survive.

Sure as towns and city expand the light pollution will kill astronomy for most of us.......from where we live...........BUT we will just venture further outwards from the towns and cities to darker skies.

Back garden astronomy (for most of us) will become a thing of the past. Is this a bad thing?

I dont think so.

Observing from higher elevations and under darker skies is what we all strive to do.

Who cares if we are all driven out of the towns and cities towards the darker skies of the countryside or mountains.

The observing conditions are better in those places anyway.

With so many people crowding into overlit conurbations one has to wonder whether it would be possible for a contemporary urban playwright to imagine lines like these:

Joxer: God be with the young days when you were steppin' the deck of a manly ship, with the win' blowin' a hurricane through the masts, an' the only sound you'd hear was, "Port your helm!" an' the only answer, "Port it is, sir!"
Boyle: Them was days, Joxer, them was days. Nothin' was too hot or too heavy for me then. Sailin' from the Gulf o' Mexico to the Antanartic Ocean. I seen things, I seen things, Joxer, that no mortal man should speak about that knows his Catechism. Ofen, an' ofen, when I was fixed to the wheel with a marlin-spike, an' the win's blowin' fierce an' the waves lashin' an' lashin', till you'd think every minute was goin' to be your last, an' it blowed, an' blowed -- blew is the right word, Joxer, but blowed is what the sailors use...
Joxer: Aw, it's a darlin' word, a daarlin' word.
Boyle: An', as it blowed an' blowed, I ofen looked up at the sky an' assed meself the question -- what is the stars, what is the stars?
Coal_Vendor: Any blocks, coal-blocks; blocks, coal-blocks!
Joxer: Ah, that's the question, that's the question -- what is the stars?
Boyle: An' then, I'd have another look, an' I'd ass meself -- what is the moon?
Joxer: Ah, that's the question -- what is the moon, what is the moon?

Sean O'Casey, Juno and the Paycock (I.v)

Having just come back from another trip in Japan, I find it intriguing how Japanese amateur astronomers face light pollution.

They seem to embrace the spirit of nature that most young Japanese inherit, a spirit which above all gives nature a center stage.

Yet there is in this, like so many aspects of Japanese culture, a sense of abject contradiction. While nature is valued highly, modern development continues to see mountains "shaved" and suitable observing sites encroached upon by cities and their Pachinko parlour illumination. Everywhere one looks, the contradiction between an almost obsessive desire to "Westernise" (and bring the consequent industrialization with its myriad forms of pollution) and a strong love for nature can be seen.

Will amateur observational astronomy survive the onslaught of industrialization? I understand that Japanese amateurs began to combat increasing light pollution somewhat earlier than their Western counterparts, and certainly Japanese amateurs fight as hard as those in other parts of the world to maintain suitable observing sites. No one can say for sure, but if the amateurs I have met in Japan give any indication, it is that there can be no doubt that the sense of responsibility for future generations together with the ever present factors of curiosity and the simple joy of discovery will continue to be passed on as they have been for hundreds of years.

Eamonn A

Of course it won't die. Amateur Astronomy has been around for millions of years, the first men of course looked at the sky. Thinking its going to die in this tiny little section of time just because you happen to have been born in it is just silly. We are all insignificant useless lifeforms just trying to expand our species, our lifespans are nothing in time if you zoom out a bit. Astronomy will always be around for all creatures (don't think man is the only species that looks at the night sky).

Not to worry.

Global warming will cause a major collapse of human population within the next hundred years and any astronomers among the survivors will have a field day once they've taken care of basic priorities. Not just because 99% of the light pollution will be a thing of the past but because they will only have to rummage through enough ruins in order to find and salvage a decent telescope.