A network of 40 photometers, to be distributed all over the island, will monitor the quality of the night sky over La Palma. Their data is supposed to be made public, and to contain real-time information about sky darkness, temperature, and cloud cover. Continue reading
La Palma
And the next one…
Another overly bright LED billboard. Seen in Los Llanos, May 3, 2019, at 22:40 local time. Continue reading
Los Llanos: An intelligently lit crosswalk
“Light only when you need it” is the most fundamental rule when it comes to outdoor lighting. This crosswalk in Los Llanos municipality on La Palma is a textbook example of how it’s done. Continue reading
Meet the men who protect La Palma’s dark skies
The newspaper Diario de Avisos has published an article today that I recommend strongly to read (if you speak Spanish) or hand over to your favorite translating machine. It’s about the work of two astronomers of the IAC’s Sky Quality Protection Technical Office, OTPC for short. By enforcing the Sky Law, they try to keep La Palma’s skies as dark as possible. >
El Paso’s LED billboard is 60 times brighter than allowed
El Paso’s new LED billboard (featured in my first post on La Palma Lightpollution) was still active on February 25 – despite a complaint filed by the OTPC, the IAC’s Sky Quality Protection Technical Office earlier this month. According to the OTPC, there is no response from the municipality yet, who is responsible for the billboard’s operation. Continue reading
Nothing to see here
except for those interested in this hardware store’s merchandise at night. As a courtesy, floodlight is complimentary. Seen in El Paso, La Palma. The store was closed, btw. Continue reading
Los Llanos: Poorly adjusted public floodlights
La Palma’s “Sky Law” requires public lighting to be directed downwards to avoid direct light scatter and skyglow. Most streetlights therefore have full cut-off housings. But some lights could be better, much better. One bright example are floodlights, especially the ones used in Los Llanos’ municipal stadium. Continue reading
Tijarafe: Lightpollution by a public school
The purpose of this installation is a mystery to me, but it’s bright, white, and creates significant lightpollution over the small village of Tijarafe on La Palma’s western coast. Oddly enough, it’s mounted on a window of a public education center (CEO Tijarafe). This is what it looks like at night: Continue reading
Astronomical viewpoints, brightly illuminated
One of La Palma’s astronomical attractions is a network of 14 astronomical viewpoints. They are distributed across the island and are equipped with information panels: Some explain constellations, others the planets, the Moon, or other aspects of astronomy. Each one also has a sign that points to Polaris, the northern star. Continue reading
Some highlights from 2018
Pun intended. The past year has seen some changes regarding lighting on La Palma, none of which helped to save the island’s famous dark skies. Here’s a (certainly incomplete) collection. Continue reading
