January 2012
President's Message: January 2012
By Tom ThibaultDear Skyscrapers Members,
Hopefully all of you good little stargazers received some new observing gadgets this holiday season. The winter solstice has passed and the winter skies are amongst the best to test out those new goodies. Jupiter continues to dominate the evening and some of the premiere deep sky objects have begun to display their wares. To me, the winter skies are the best, the skies appear their darkest, the air is crisp, and the nights start early.
It was good to see so many of you at our December Holiday Meeting. The Skyscrapers tradition of our membership gathering to feast with friends continued with a fabulous Pot Luck spread of varied dishes. Our speaker Richard Sanderson’s, “Night of Raining Fire” was captivating. As Richard read the eyewitness accounts of the 1833 Meteor Storm, I became envious of those that had witnessed this rare astronomical event. I find history an interesting subject to begin with, but add the astronomy component, and you have me hooked.
Bob Horton and Bob Napier put together a wonderful display honoring long time member John Hopf. It included numerous examples of John’s work as a professional photographer as well as stunning photos of comets he captured during his lifetime. Our attendees were treated to an early holiday gift. All were invited to choose one of numerous postcard examples of John’s works in memory of our fellow Skyscraper. Bob Horton also, to the delight of the crowd, shared a great aerial photo of John within a small plane accompanied by a pair of UFO’s, apparently John’s reputation as a great photographer had spread throughout the universe.
As you all know, light pollution is the bane of all those with an interest in astronomy. There are studies now showing that light pollution is not only hindering our view of the night sky, but are also having effects on us physically. January’s Meeting will feature the film “City Dark”. Francine Jackson will present the film and has extended an invitation to our membership to invite any of their public officials to attend. If we want to see improvements regarding this issue, we need to have those representing us to work on our behalf.
Our Observatory Committee and Outreach Program have completed a very active year. Even with the late start last year, our Public Nights finished strong due to the lack of snow and ice. We have added to the ranks of the committee two additional members and invite all to come up and join us on Saturday Nights. We participated and hosted a good number of Public Outreach events and shared the beauty of the universe with hundreds. We’ve had a great year displaying our commitment to public education. I would like to encourage anyone with the time and interest to come join us in our mission.
Clear Skies
Tom Thibault
Skyscrapers
President
"The City Dark"
Francine JacksonThe Frosty Drew Observatory is said to be located in the darkest skies in Rhode Island. Knowing the observatory’s contributions to the town – educational, economic and aesthetic – Charlestown has bought for Frosty Drew’s exclusive use the movie The City Dark. This 84-minute movie stresses the importance of retaining the night, for effects including human health, animal preservation and the retaining of one of our natural resources.
THE CITY DARK is a feature documentary about the loss of night. After moving to NYC from rural Maine, filmmaker Ian Cheney asks a simple question - do we need the stars? - taking him from Brooklyn to Mauna Kea, Paris, and beyond. Exploring the threat of killer asteroids in Hawaii, tracking hatching turtles along the Florida coast, and rescuing injured birds on Chicago streets, Cheney unravels the myriad implications of a globe glittering with lights - including increased breast cancer rates from exposure to light at night, and a generation of kids without a glimpse of the universe above. Featuring stunning astrophotography and a cast of eclectic scientists, THE CITY DARK is the definitive story of light pollution and the disappearing stars. Written by Wicked Delicate Films
In many ways the most complex issue that we face as a civilization are the trade offs between the costs and benefits of modernity. One of the most trans-formative changes of the last century has been the massive expansion of artificial light which has transformed our concepts of natural daylight and darkness and in so doing transformed our way of life. Thomas Edison's electric light bulb is in many ways the core invention of our modern way of life. Artificial lighting represents one of humankind's greatest triumphs over the natural world. But at the same kind, artificial lighting has remarkable, and usually unremarked, upon costs.
The City Dark takes on the challenge of trying to understand what we are losing through the loss of darkness. The City Dark has been filmed in a beautiful and elegant style – a sort of visual poetry that draws the viewer in. The beauty of the filming and insights of the interviews literally paint us picture of the costs of electric lighting. The film is an enchanting philosophical study of how artificial light is changing our lives in profound ways. It explores how we are becoming disconnected from our natural surroundings – particularly the stars of the night sky that are being lost to light pollution in our urban areas. Its biggest flaw is that it spends too much time on how we've lost contact with the beauty of the night sky before getting to the more intriguing ways in which artificial lighting is affecting the well-being of our society. The later parts of the film examine how our changes to the lighting environment are harming the wildlife - such as turtles and birds. It also explores how lighting may be having deleterious effects on human health in profound and unexpected ways.
This film literally asks us to consider the costs of our modernity, science and indeed literally of our enlightenment. Those are questions that we need to be asking in our modern, scientific world as we come to realize the costs of our modern way of life.
Astrophotography Presentation from HUT Observatory
John BriggsSetting up a roof-top observatory
Alan Sliski
A warm January night
