Seriously. America has become so absurd, so mentally constipated, so completely unhinged... I give up. As my dear friend Culture of Truth (see blogroll! and Oh Noes!!) regarding tonight's debate, "christ on a stick that was a fucking nightmare."
Concise and to the point.
So, let us look up to the skies instead. I give you- The Protected Sky:
Explanation: This sky is protected. Yesterday marked the 50 year anniversary of the first lighting ordinance ever enacted, which restricted searchlight advertisements from sweeping the night skies above Flagstaff, Arizona, USA. Flagstaff now enjoys the status of being the first International Dark Sky City, and maintains a lighting code that limits lights from polluting this majestic nighttime view. The current dark skies over Flagstaff not only enable local astronomers to decode the universe but allow local sky enthusiasts to see and enjoy a tapestry contemplated previously by every human generation. The above image, pointing just east of north, was taken two weeks ago at 3 am from Fort Valley, only 10 kilometers from central Flagstaff. Visible in the above spectacular panorama are the San Francisco Peaks caped by a lenticular cloud. Far in the distance, the plane of the Milky Way Galaxy arcs diagonally from the lower left to the upper right, highlighted by the constellations of Cassiopeia, Cepheus, and Cygnus. On the far right, the North America Nebula is visible just under the very bright star Deneb.If we're lucky some mean aliens will come shoot us with particle beams and put us out of our fucking misery.
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10 comments:
Well there ya go, FLG. At least you can get a Brazilian cell phone out of your post.
As a member of our county's historic district commission, I've been pushing to get dark-sky ordinances passed, the logic being that dark skies are part of our rural legacy. Planning and Zoning is with me, but the business community and their shill on the board of commissioners have so far had the upper hand. The battle continues.
We'll never have skies like Flagstaff, but every little bit helps.
Go figure the logic when Vermont put in a medium-security prison within sight of a regional observatory. People had fits but it did no good. Even in Vermont we have dimbulbs.
Sorry about the spam. Maybe spammers should be subjected to endless presidential debates?
Not just a "regional observatory", Caminante. Stellafane is the world-renowned shrine of amateur telescope making, and the town pushed it through even after they brought in IDA and professional astronomers to fight against it.
That's the kind of stuff dark-sky advocates are up against in most places.
Oh, and I guess I should say that I too think this post is likeable.
Hugs to you too, Celular!
Dark skies R a good thing.
I grew up in Chicago. And one of my favorite things to do when we camped in central Wisconsin was to go to the parking lot overlooking the small lake we camped by, and watch the stars and the rest of the sky.
It's amazing, and sad, what our lights block out.
Buckeye, Dealer of Rare Coins
Keep fighting for dark skies, Poopyman! I have the sad distinction of being a teenager before I ever saw the Milky Way...tsk.
But regarding the debate, sometimes I wish we lived in the Mirror, Mirror universe, where maybe Obama would have given the boob who asked about the lapel pin a look worthy of Tom Landry, then said "You're an idiot. Next question!"
Sigh.
That is a gorgeous photo
Thanks Poopyman for elaborating on what I wrote. I couldn't remember the name of the observatory or the exact nature of its signficance. All I remembered was that the prison lights are tragic for more reasons than one.
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