Astronomical outburst

It seems that the City Council is hell-bent on replacing every streetlight in Kommetjie with those invasive sodium lights that cast a vast pool of orange glow in every direction. I now have one in the street in front of the house and another down the side that shines onto my balcony. This is where I use my 8" astronomical telescope for galaxy spotting, but the new light is fatal for night vision. The neighbour has just chopped down all the trees that previously blocked out the white light from the pole, taking away an almost perfect viewing platform. It looks as though my stargazing days (or nights) are numbered.

It used to be very dark on the balcony, with no neighbours leaving on outside lights, but that has also changed with the advent of new neighbours on two sides (my viewing sides) and there are two halogen spotlights that light up the back yard all night from a cottage at the rear.

The last thing that would enter people's heads, it appears, is that anyone would actually like a bit of darkness at night. For amateur astronomers like myself, the decisions made unilaterally by persons unknown who sit behind desks and wield unjustified power over the general populace are another thing the world could do without.

The paranoia that exists over crime is the cause of all this extra illumination, but I feel sure that a survey on whether an outside light serves as a deterrent to burglars would yield interesting results. My feeling is that we are making it easier for them to spot the way in and any hazards that might be encountered on the way. If we made less use of light and employed trip-wires and other booby-trap devices and infrared beams, they might prove better deterrents.

So until further notice, I won't be out there in the early hours of the morning, searching the skies for satellites, space stations or spy planes. I will be knocking together a portable observatory, something along the lines of a large portaloo I would imagine, with a lid that pops off for the telescope to peep through. Come to think of it, the portaloo would come in handy after a long night of drinking coffee!