Night Sky

[James Riley]

This could have gone under Fireside but I think it's a Sportsmen Issue. I respectfully request that you look around and make a conscience decision regarding light on your place. If you need it, okay. But if you don't, please turn it off. It'll save you money and reduce your footprint on the stars.

The rural mercury lights are really a drag. If you're calving and what not, you can always turn them on. They don't have to be blaring all night, every night. You can also look into lights that point down instead of all over creation. As to safety, there have been studies that show crime goes down in the dark. Muggers like partially lit alleys. They don't know who they are dealing with in the dark.

I love to patrol all night in the wilderness, no flashlights, etc. And I love seeing the cosmos. I've met some kids from the city who have never seen the stars. What kind of BS is that?

Anyway, think about it. There is a metric shit ton of information out there on cheap, easy things you can do and myths that can be dispelled about what light can and cannot do. Research if you feel so inclined. And learning how to walk in the dark, even in grizzly country, can be a mental re-alignment that's good for the soul.

This post was instigated by this news I saw this morning on Bing: http://www.msn.com/en-us/weather/to...lution-plague/ar-AAgTNVo?ocid=ansmsnweather11

 

[MTGomer]

Not quite on topic, but I have had two elk hunts in the last five or six years ruined by flashlights. I had snuck into position above where I thought elk were going to be-I could vaguely see them grazing in the moonlight and hear bugling- and was waiting for it to get light out, when folks on the Trail in the valley below began coming into the drainage with their flashlights on, shining them all over every hillside. Needless to say the elk disappear

 

[James Riley]

Not quite on topic, but I have had two elk hunts in the last five or six years ruined by flashlights. I had snuck into position above where I thought elk were going to be-I could vaguely see them grazing in the moonlight and hear bugling- and was waiting for it to get light out, when folks on the Trail in the valley below began coming into the drainage with their flashlights on, shining them all over every hillside. Needless to say the elk disappear

Yes, indeed. I rarely hunt with other people but one time I was coming out of some country with a guy who insisted on using a light. I either dropped a couple hundred meters behind him or in front of him but it killed my night vision to be by him, not to mention all the shadows flopping around to where you can't see S.

But what really pissed me off is the fact that I love the high plains, short grass prairie and, well, Colorado's east plains are just shot to hell. You can see sky-glow from Denver wherever you go.

 

[Gr8bawana]

When we move out of a city of 2 million + to our small town of about 35,000 we were amazed at the difference. The nights are so dark and you can see all the stars not just the brightest ones. It's also very quiet at night which we really love. The background noise of the city was something we didn't notice until it wasn't there.

 

[hank4elk]

Guess I'm lucky.
I live in the darkest spot in the lower 48,or so THEY say...the dark sky folks. Milky Way is so big and bright it's hard to make out constellations some times.
I can walk across my land at night just by starlight.
So bright on a moonlit nite I can watch the elk moving around.