The new floodlights on Maple Street are wrecking our galaxy views

Seriously, who approved those insane LED floodlights for the park renovation? They blast light straight up into the sky, washing out everything past Orion. Before, I could see the Andromeda galaxy from my deck, now it's just a gray blur. The town council needs to fix this or we lose one of the best things about living here.

3 comments

3 Comments

tyler1291mo ago

Wait, you could actually see Andromeda from your deck before? That's crazy... I've tried with binoculars from my backyard and never could really get it. For them to blot that out, those lights must be insanely bright.

reesepatel1mo ago

It's not just brightness, it's the wrong color light. Those new LED streetlights blast a harsh blue-white that scatters way more than the old orange ones did. That scattering is what really kills the faint stuff like galaxies.

wright.seth1mo ago

Oh you can totally see it with binoculars from a dark spot, it just looks like a faint fuzzy patch. The trick is knowing exactly where to look, like using the big square of Pegasus as a guide. My old place had zero light pollution so it was easier to spot that soft glow. Now with these new streetlights it's like trying to see a candle next to a car's high beams, just completely washes it out.