Recent power outages in the city due to the wind and rain storms that have pounded Richmond in the past weeks were not welcome by many, including myself, who went a few hours with nothing to do.
In an attempt to entertain myself during the first blackout, I dusted off my Newtonian telescope, grabbed my jacket and walked to the park to observe the night sky.
To my surprise I saw with amazing detail, Jupiter, as well as four of its moons. It was with such clarity that I was observing Jupiter, the cold of the night failed to stop me.
A few days later I went out once again, this time without a power outage to encourage me and what I saw concerned me. The sky was now polluted by the growing amount of artificial light that is emitted from our growing city.
I believe both citizens and the government should do more to protect our night sky from disappearing behind a curtain of light.
We can switch off lights we do not need, installing motion censored outdoor lights so that they are not left on all night long, or by turning our office lights off at the end to the day.
The city can replace outdated street lighting with lights similar to the ones on No. 3 road.
I hope citizens along with the city reduce light pollution that harms not only our wallets with high bills, but our ability to observe the stars and planets that light up our night sky.
Pablo Pascual
Richmond
