Greenhouse light pollution affecting work at the observatory

The light pollution at night has interfered with their ability to use the Hallam Observatory near Comber, Ont."On the worst night here from due east to due west and straight overhead — that entire part of the sky, half the sky essentially is virtually starless," said past president Randy Groundwater.

Society member Dan Taylor said the light pollution is also hampering research work.

"I was a member of a scientific association in the United States that collected information on specific stars, now because of the light pollution it's much more difficult to do that kind of work," said Taylor, who was instrumental in getting Point Pelee National Park designated a dark-sky preserve.

Groundwater said doing that around the observatory isn't possible because the area is largely agricultural.

The greenhouse growers are fighting a Leamington bylaw limiting the light pollution and are due in court this summer.

"I think we can come to some kind of a middle ground," Ontario Vegetable Greenhouse Growers executive director Joe Sbrocchi told CBC News on Monday.

Sbrocchi said sealing up the greenhouse to prevent all light escaping isn't doable, but believes greenhouse growers can reduce the amount of light being released by 90 per cent or more.

"The problem there is that if you don't allow a certain amount of heat and humidity at different times of the year to escape, you'll cook your crop," he said. "We need to protect crops."

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Photo by Sebastian Herrmann on Unsplash

Source: Msn/Cbc News