night show

by leigh macmillen hayes

Early sunsets and long winter nights. Some people dread the combination, especially mixed in with cold air. A whole new world, however, comes alive at night and the cold is part of what makes this such a good reason to look up. Autumn and winter provide the ultimate time to experience the stunning Milky Way, far off planets, and unique star clusters as colder air holds less hazy moisture than balmy summer air. Suddenly, clear nights are super clear.

Sadly, there is a problem: light pollution from artificial lights. And it has become more and more of an issue during the past few years in western Maine. The International Dark-Sky Association (IDA) defines light pollution as “inappropriate or excessive use of artificial light,” and goes on to state that “it can have serious environmental consequences for humans, wildlife, and our environment.”

What constitutes light pollution? For starters, there’s glare from excessive brightness, which can cause visual discomfort, especially for those of us with aging eyes. Then there’s the sky glow that comes from a conglomeration of lights in inhabited areas. (Think Bridgton, where new lighting on Main Street makes an evening stroll feel like one taken during the middle of the day and the glow from all those lights is visible from a friend’s hillside home in Chatham, New Hampshire.) Light trespass is another issue, which occurs when a neighbor’s lights fall where they are not intended or needed. I know that my husband and I have noticed a major decline in our ability to see falling stars or any constellations from the dark porch of our camp because light trespass has increased significantly in the past few years. With all of this light at night, the natural or circadian rhythm that people and all life on Earth rely on is radically disrupted. Nocturnal mammals who sleep by day and are active at night are thrown off when light pollution turns their night into day. Birds that migrate or hunt at night find it difficult to navigate by the moon and stars and others are lured into the landscape of cities where collisions with illuminated buildings has become a major issue. While insects are attracted to light, they often meet their fate and declining insect populations affect all of us as we rely on many of them for pollination of our food. Another way humans are affected is that sleeping in lightpolluted environments can result in reduced production of natural melatonin, a primary cancer-fighting chemical in the body, and poor sleep can also lead to higher rates of obesity and diabetes, and other illnesses.

And then there’s the wasted energy and money. According to the IDA site, 13% of residential electricity use in the United States is for outdoor lighting and about 35% of light is wasted by unshielded and/or poorlyaimed outdoor lighting.

Why all the lights? Perhaps the thought is that increased outdoor lighting will decrease crime. The opposite may actually be true for the lights make it easier for victims and property to be more easily viewed and it provides shadows for perpetrators to hide.

What can we do to mitigate the problem? We can begin by evaluating the outdoor lights we turn on and determine if they are unshielded, therefore casting a bright light onto someone else’s property or even into their house. We might consider re-directing the lights toward the ground where they will do the most good; shielding them, which will actually make them more effective and create less glare; using lower wattage bulbs, which in turn will save us money; OR only turn them on when we actually need them.

Making those changes to uncontrolled outdoor lighting that has been hiding the stars and changed our perspective of the night will help us and the environment. An added benefit will be that we can look up once again and appreciate what our ancestors saw: a sky brimming with stars.

To that end, a generous donor gifted six telescopes to Camp Susan Curtis in Stoneham, Maine, in 2020. Director Terri Mulks says, “The telescopes are the same kind that are used in the Library Telescope Program and are managed by Cornerstones of Science. We created a new program called Look Up! Our campers are able to come to the beach after Evening Program (usually around 9:00 p.m.) and view the night sky. The telescope donor also provided us with tables, chairs, a wagon to move everything around and an Audubon Constellation Book and Star Finder that interested campers can take home with them and share with their family. The campers get pretty excited when they first see the moon up close and enjoy hearing stories about the constellations.”

How did they react? “When we came down here, I thought this was gonna be a real drag but it’s actually pretty cool. I would spend 4 more hours out here if I could!” says Jeff.

What a wonder-filled experience for the campers and it would be great to learn if this inspires them to venture out at night during the rest of the year to take a peek.

Since the sky gets fully dark before the kids go to bed, the whole family can stargaze together.

How about you? Will you venture out on a cold winter night and look up?

To locate the stars, orient yourself by facing north, which means that sunrise will be to your right and sunset to the left. Then locate the Big Dipper, those seven stars arranged in the shape of a large scoop or dipper. This group of stars is an asterism within the Great Bear constellation. It’s a circumpolar constellation that circles the North Pole all year. The curved handle is created by three stars and four stars create the bowl.

Known as Ursa Major, the handle is the bear’s tail while the bowl forms its back. The two stars at the end of the bowl are the pointers or guardians of the poles. The pointer stars always point to Polaris, the North Star.

Polaris provides a good jumping off point to locate other stars. The North Star serves as the tip of the handle for the Little Dipper, which is part of Ursa Minor or Little Bear. This is another seven-star formation.

Continuing along the same invisible line from the pointers through Polaris, your next stop is the tip of a triangular-shaped hat or crown that tops the squarish face of Cepheus, an Ethiopian king. He has a nose, mouth, eye, and short ponytail at the back of his head.

Now turn about 45˚ east (toward sunrise) and locate the five stars of his wife, Cassiopeia. Her crown consists of five stars that form a W or M. Even if you can’t find Cepheus, Cassiopeia always sits opposite the Big Dipper. She many not be large, but she is bright.

The daughter of the king and queen is also visible in the winter sky. Andromeda’s head is one of four stars of the Great Square. To locate her husband, Perseus, look north, make a line from the Pole Star to Cassiopeia and look down to Algerib, his leading star, which marks one of the ribs of his Y-shaped constellation. He looks like a man with a pointed cap.

There are also meteor showers to view including the Geminids in mid-December and Quadrantids in early January.

Maine is home to a couple of spectacular places that have been recognized for excellent stewardship of the night sky as International Dark Sky Places by IDA. This recognition is based on stringent outdoor lighting standards and innovative community outreach. One is Appalachian Mountain Club’s Maine Woods, a property in the 100-Mile Wilderness between Moosehead Lake and Baxter State Park. The area is an official IDA Park and the first of its kind in New England. This status helps protect nearly 75,000 acres from light pollution.

The even more remote 87,500-acre Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument is designated as an IDA International Dark Sky Sanctuary because it is one of the darkest places not only in Maine, but the world. It’s the first place on the eastern seaboard to receive this designation and only places as remote as Antartica have darker skies.

We’ll never achieve that status in western Maine, but we can certainly turn down or off the light switch and let the night show be a natural one where the stars are just that: the stars. R

A few recommendations to make winter stargazing enjoyable: • Dress in layers • Select a site where the sky is dark and not cloudy (check the moon phase before you go and avoid a full moon) • Stand on a piece of insulation (an idea

Forest Therapy Guide Jeanne Christie recommends when you will be standing still for a period of time) • Give your eyes 5 to 20 minutes to adjust • Use your naked eye or try binoculars