The rapid qrowth of light pollution threatens the future of astronomical observation. Detailed modeling of how light from the ground propagates through the atmosphere suggests waysto limit the damage.
We present panoramic sky brightness measures in the Johnson V band made at the US Naval Observatory Flagstaff Station. We find that these measures show much less sky glow from Flagstaff than expected using the total light output and unshielded fraction determined recently by Luginbuhl et al. and Garstang's 1991 modeling approach. We suggest the difference arises principally from the diminution of upward-directed light after emission from light fixtures and ...
We develop an estimate of the complete outdoor lighting of Flagstaff Arizona, as well as lighting use densities (lumens per acre) for a number of different land uses. We find a total outdoor light output of 173 million lumens (Mlm) including sports lighting, and 139 Mlm without sports lighting, with an uncertainty of about 7%. The average fraction escaping directly upward from light fixtures is estimated to be 8.3%. After ...