Campaign: Landscape - Night Blight

How dark is the view from your garden?

Looking up into a clear night sky and watching thousands of bright stars gradually stand out from the darkness is one of the pleasures of living in the countryside.

CPRE launched its Night Blight campaign in May 2003 because this view is under threat of being blotted out by the orange glow from street light and security lights. The aim of the campaign is to bring people's attention to the need to eliminate badly designed lighting on roads and buildings.

Weather satellite pictures of England show that from 1993 to 2000 light pollution increased by 24% and that the percentage of truly dark skies fell from 15% to 11%. Only 3% of Hampshire's night skies are now totally dark, showing that light pollution is encroaching on our rural areas.

You can help strengthen our campaign and help to bring them back by filling in our form 'Light Pollution in Hampshire - Help Us Identify the Culprits', which cites examples of road lighting, floodlights, security lights, etc. which create particularly bad light pollution. (Editor's note, Jan 2007: this form is no longer in use) Once completed, email the form as an attachment to the administrator at CPRE Hampshire (email: admin@cprehampshire.org.uk) or send it to the office (click here for address).

There is some good news as the Government has agreed to examing the possibility of making light pollution a statutory nuisance and, importantly, will provide an annex on light pollution to PPS 23, Planning and Pollution Control.

Visits to Clanfield Observatory

On Saturday 23 August 2003, when Mars was at its closest to Earth for approximately 60,000 years, forty members of CPRE Hampshire and their friends visited Clanfield Observatory which houses the largest telescope in the south of England. The objectives of the visit were to discuss and promote Night Blight, see Mars and tour the Observatory.

The evening was a huge success. It was a clear night, so as well as seeing very interesting and informative presentations on Mars and on light pollution, everyone was able to get a good look at Mars through the Observatory's 5" Cooke refractor and 24" reflector telescopes.

Following the visit, members will hopefully provide CPRE with examples of light pollution in the areas where they live to help the campaign.

A second visit to the Observatory took place on Tuesday 21 October 2003 for the people who did not get places on the first visit. The evening was another success. Although not a single star or planet was visible due to heavy rainfall throughout the evening (the first for months!), an excellent presentation by the Chairman of the Hampshire Astronomical Society, Graham Bryant, and the warm welcome given to us by other members of the group made up for this.

May 2004