Why is it hard to see the stars at night and what can we do about it?

Question

I'm writing an essay that's due Monday. I need lots of sources whether they be online, books, interviews, etc.

Answer 1

It's actually a combination of light and air pollution. Normally around cities and even in the suburbs there are street lights, traffic, malls, stores, all kinds of things that put off light. This ambient light tends to illumnate any pollution, fog, clouds or anything else in the area. The result is, unless it's a very clear day most of the dimmer stars ( either because they are smaller or because they are further away ) are more difficult to see.

If you go to the mountains where air pollution is minimal, less humid air, less clouds, and there is less ambient light from cities even the dimmest stars are clearly visible. Thats one reason they put observatories way up on mountains usually.

The main things you should research and write about in your essay is what we can do about it would probably be to reduce light pollution and reduce air pollution. Air pollution is tied into carbon dioxide emissions, which you should be able to find 1000s of articles about given all the talk of global warming.

See the links below to get you started in your research.

Answer 2

The reason why you have problems seeing stars at night is quite simple. I assume you live in an urban area, because if you didn't you'd be able to see stars quite easily. The main problem is light pollution, which is where there are too many lights on and it basically dims the brightness of the stars. Some are so strongly dimmed that you cannot see them without a visual aid such as a telescope. Another problem is air pollution in general. These two problems are incredibly prevalent in major cities across the world, and you are much better off for star gazing up the mountains or far from a city.

Answer 3

go to some place far from city and all its street lights that shine and reflect in the clouds and humidity of the air,

AND make sure your eyes have about 15 minutes in dark to adjust to dark conditions and become more sensitive to see more sesitively, the stars that are farther and appear finer smaller, weeker starlight. Then you will see many more stars.

Thats the procedure of the Royal Astronomical Society, for astronomy hobbyists.

Similarly, the best telescoping locations are always ones far from city lights, like in the jungle or desert, or some remote island in the sea.

The best optical telescope location of all is beyond earth's atmosphere, which is why the HUBBLE telescope was developed.

Most astronomy has gone beyond the archaiic dependence on optical tools and what the human eye can see. They use radio telescopes instead, measuring radio waves, radio waves gamma rays, electomagnetic radiation beyond the visible spectrum, and they can determine the size, age, distance, and chemical composition of stars that way, regardless of light pollution. It provides much more information than just what the human eye can see in any conditions. If you're doing a formal report, you should research and fine-tune specifically the names of the kinds of radiation they measure.

Answer 4

It just takes some thinking to figure it out.
The stars are hard to see because either:
1. They are faint
2. The sky is too bright from city lights and washes out the stars

What can we do?
About point #1, nothing except use a telescope to see them better.
About point #2, we can do all kinds of things (check out the February 2007 issue of Astronomy magazine for a great article on this very topic).

Answer 5

Because when it is very light outside (ex: the half or full moon, a city, or a town) it is hard to see stars because they are so far away and not very bright, unless you have a telescope then a solution may be to get away from the city or town in which you live and go to a less populated place like a ranch or while you are hiking.

Answer 6

It's because everyone has lights turned on outside, especally around cities like NYC or LA. If we turned off the lights, it would give the stars a chance to shine.

Also, it could be just clouds but there's no way we can control that.

Answer 7

Mostly because the majority of us live near cities. City lights make stars hard to see. If you were on a farm in northern Indiana, you'd see zillions of them.

Answer 8

light pollution from the cities tends to brighten the night sky. when i lived in los angeles, i don't even remember SEEING stars in the sky!!
i live in the country now, and the night is so dark and the stars are crystal clear and bright.
try doing your own research, you might enjoy what you learn
don't know what you can do about it-turn off the lights???

Answer 9

We can't see stars because of smog and lights during the night. We could stop that by reducing pollution.But, if we stop putting lights in the neighborhood we won't be able to see anything.

Answer 10

It is very hard if you live in urban areas, because of atmospherical pollution, and the presence of too many sources of light.

It is not hard at all if you live on top of a mountain, far away from any major settlement and in a relatively unpolluted area.