See the Stars
Observatory Park at Turner Farm is open to the public for viewings of the night sky every Friday night beginning at sunset, weather permitting. Weather and sky conditions can be monitored by viewing the weather watch on the homepage, http://www.analemma…">www.analemma.org.
To determine whether it is a good night to come out, here is the rule of thumb: If you can see stars, yes. If you can see clouds, no.
Feel free to bring telescopes and cameras, chairs, blankets or snacks. The gathering usually lasts for about an hour, starting at sunset.
The Analemma Society, a nonprofit organization, has a partnership agreement with the Park Authority to develop recreational and educational astronomy programs at Turner Farm. The Society raises money to support these programs through a network of volunteers that range from individuals to public schools to universities.
On Saturday, June 21, 2014, a groundbreaking ceremony was held at Observatory Park. Construction on a roll-top observatory is scheduled to begin in November and will provide the facility with four permanently mounted telescopes.
The Turner Farm, 925 Springvale Road, Great Falls
Source: http://www.fairfaxc…">http://www.fairfaxc…
Bob Parks showed 40 members of the Great Falls Citizens Association a satellite photo of the world; the United States was lit up like a Christmas tree.
“We’re winning the lighting war. Japan might be edging us out,” said Parks. “We do this by wasting electricity and we’ve been doing this really well for 75 to 80 years.”
Parks is the executive director of Smart Outdoor Lighting Alliance, which assists cities in their transition to energy efficient, and ecologically responsible public lighting.
“You can’t wait until it’s too late to change. It’s like global warming.”
— Bob Parks, Smart Outdoor Lighting Alliance, www.volt.org
“You can’t wait until it’s too late to change. It’s like global warming,” he said. (See volt.org)
The Great Falls Citizens Association held an educational event Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2015, at the Great Falls Library to discuss the night sky issues in Fairfax County, demonstrate how light pollution washes out the skies and discuss the Fairfax County Park Authority/Analemma Society construction of a new observatory at Turner Farm park.
In most parts of the Washington metro area, the skies are “washed out” by night lighting that destroys residents’ ability to see the skies, according to Great Falls Citizens Association.
“Light pollution can affect the night sky a state or two away,” said Parks.
GREAT FALLS has a long-standing effort to preserve dark skies to enable residents, students and astronomers to view and appreciate the stars, constellations and lunar events.
“Preserving this unique local asset is a challenge,” said Bill Canis, of Great Falls Citizens Association.
There is good news.
“Great Falls is unique in that the only place that is as dark as it is is Clifton,” said Parks of the region. “Manassas is nowhere near as dark.”
But even though Great Falls is a relatively darker area, there still is significant light pollution, said Charles Olin, the founder and president of the Great Falls-based Analemma Society, which raises awareness and understanding of science through astronomy for children and adults.
“In 1948, I fell in love with astronomy in the middle of London,” said Olin.
“In 1971, I would go out on dark nights and I could see the Milky Way and see the dark clouds in the Milky Way,” he said, of views from his home in Great Falls. “Today, even in the park, we can’t even see the Milky Way most nights.”
Before the Observatory and Turner Farm Park was built, he determined Great Falls was the darkest spot in the area. “Based on that, I thought it would be a great idea to have an observatory in Great Falls,” he said.
LIGHT POLLUTION affects wildlife, including feeding patterns, migration patterns and reproductive patterns,” said Tammy Schwab of the Fairfax County Park Authority.
It affects water quality, and crops, such as lettuce and spinach because they bloom early and strawberries because they don’t bloom at all, said Schwab.
The Park Authority in 2010 started a Dark Sky Campaign. It’s changed outdoor lighting for the county’s recreational facilities, for example.
Fairfax County is on the cutting edge with a light ordinance the Board of Supervisors adopted in 2003, “one of the most comprehensive ordinances of its kind in the nation.”
But the ordinance needs to be reviewed, said Parks, and needs to be enforced.
Light pollution can also affect sleep patterns of human beings, said Parks.
Of 750 million outdoor light fixtures worldwide, 160 million are in the United States, said Parks. And these lights are not efficient, with light glare, light trespass, and lighting that doesn’t target the intended area and instead points upward.
“This is our legacy of the last 50 years,” he said.
“Chicago thought it would make citizens feel safer if they lit the city. It may do that, but it doesn’t make them safer,” said Parks.
He used Cambridge as an example of a city that uses new lighting technology that reduces energy, costs and lighting pollution while continuing to ensure safe neighborhoods.
But he also said that he has at times not been taken seriously when trying to articulate the urgency of what he preaches.
Canis asked if any of the new buildings in Tysons Corner are addressing these outdoor lighting concepts.
“No,” said Parks.