Dark Sky

  The Massachusetts legislature is considering a consequential public-outdoor-lighting proposal, similar to some other recent state laws. Massachusetts House Bill H.3494 and its Senate successor, S.3145, would tie state and municipal funding for new permanent outdoor lighting to tighter controls on spectral content, uplight, illuminance and system design, reshaping the specification conversation for roadway, parking, [...]

  The US FCC approved Reflect Orbital’s first mirror-satellite launch and test furthering a space-based lighting concept that is sparking a real-world regulatory and commercial debate. The more important story is not the satellite mirror launch, but the larger collision between a new form of “light delivery” and long-standing concerns about light pollution, public safety, [...]

By Eric Bretschneider, Ph.D Excerpts from a larger technical report, linked below. Executive Summary This report details a photobiological hazard assessment of the general concept of Orbital Solar Reflectors (OSRs). A recent proposal, Reflect Orbital’s proposed Earendil-1 satellite is used as an exemplar. The analysis was conducted following IEC 62471:2006 Photobiological Safety of Lamps and [...]

  By Brian Liebel & Rick Utting, DarkSky International, Tucson, AZ. Executive Summary Upward-emitted outdoor light has long been identified as a source of atmospheric light pollution, a.k.a. sky glow. This form of light pollution is an obvious contributor to the brightening of the nighttime sky and can be observed as glowing domes of light [...]

  SB 3037, the Dark Sky Act, is currently working its way through the Illinois legislature. The bill sets out to add dark sky requirements within the Illinois Stretch Energy Code. It would update the Illinois Stretch Energy Code requirements so that the Code contains separate residential and commercial components. It specifically proposes: (A) outdoor [...]

  Nichia reports that a joint study with the Tokushima Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Technology Support Center found Nichia’s HPS color LED at 1800K (amber) had the lowest insect attraction among the tested light sources. The company says the result came from both laboratory and outdoor evaluations comparing LEDs with different correlated color temperatures (CCTs). [...]

  LightNOW has already written about Maine’s new strict dark sky law, and Hawaii’s proposed dark sky bill. Here is a look at New York State’s proposed dark sky law. New York State’s proposed Dark Skies Protection Act (Assembly Bill A4615 / Senate Bill S5007) is part of a broader effort to reduce light pollution, [...]

  A recent dark sky project has had me thinking and researching light pollution, sky glow, and by extension an optical phenomenon that we can experience on most clear days or nights. Rayleigh scattering is an interaction of light with Earth’s atmosphere. It’s most notable characteristic is it scatters lower wavelength light colors (violet and [...]

  I’ve previous written two articles (1) & (2) about a startup that is seeking to reflect sunlight onto Earth with a constellation of giant space mirrors. That startup, Reflect Orbital, based in California, plans to deploy up to 50,000 orbiting mirrors by 2035 to provide $5,000/hour “sunlight on demand” for solar farms (also to [...]