Most city dwellers don't know how much of the night sky has already been stolen by billionaires, because poorly planned, wasteful city lights have already drowned out the stars for them.

Reply to Most city dwellers don't know how much of the night sky has already been stolen by billionaires, because poorly planned, wasteful city lights have already drowned out the stars for them. on Mon, 10 Aug 2026 06:06:34 GMT

fullywoolly@mastodon.social — Mon, 10 Aug 2026 06:06:34 GMT

@fluffgar @sundogplanets I've felt something similar looking out at the ocean for as far as I could see nothing but flat blue and how small I felt in that moment.

And then later on a mountain ridge looking out towards the horizon and seeing nothing but mountains into the distance.

It doesn't quite capture the feeling of the infinite as looking at the stars but still it is truly awesome and makes one feel so incredibly small.

Like ocean:integers::sky:real numbers with size of infinities

Reply to Most city dwellers don't know how much of the night sky has already been stolen by billionaires, because poorly planned, wasteful city lights have already drowned out the stars for them. on Mon, 10 Aug 2026 06:05:32 GMT

zosho@toot.wales — Mon, 10 Aug 2026 06:05:32 GMT

@sundogplanets I guess:

a) Lying on the snow on the Brunt ice-shelf at Halleys III & IV Research stations during auroras but frankly any clear evening, not having previously seen the Southern Sky. Definitely that ‘clinging on to a whirling planet in an unfathomably large galaxy feeling’.

b) Being called outside, with mum and Tigger the cat (who’d rather have stayed warm inside) when my late, architect, and ever-enquiring dad had found some wonder-a planet, a clear moon in our 3” refractor.

Reply to Most city dwellers don't know how much of the night sky has already been stolen by billionaires, because poorly planned, wasteful city lights have already drowned out the stars for them. on Mon, 10 Aug 2026 06:02:14 GMT

derickr@phpc.social — Mon, 10 Aug 2026 06:02:14 GMT

@sundogplanets A hot tub in the Norwegian mountains in early spring. So clear, so many stars, and the milky way. And I wasn't cold even though it was -18°C

Reply to Most city dwellers don't know how much of the night sky has already been stolen by billionaires, because poorly planned, wasteful city lights have already drowned out the stars for them. on Mon, 10 Aug 2026 06:02:12 GMT

carey@mastodon.nz — Mon, 10 Aug 2026 06:02:12 GMT

@sundogplanets A small freedom camping site at Haldane Bay in the middle of winter eight years ago. No pollution, no artificial light and a crescent moon, so everything in the sky was perfectly clear.

Reply to Most city dwellers don't know how much of the night sky has already been stolen by billionaires, because poorly planned, wasteful city lights have already drowned out the stars for them. on Mon, 10 Aug 2026 05:51:00 GMT

imprinted@mastodon.uno — Mon, 10 Aug 2026 05:51:00 GMT

@sundogplanets
For me it was in Maldives, just outside the resort where the milky way showed its glorious and complete magnificence.

Reply to Most city dwellers don't know how much of the night sky has already been stolen by billionaires, because poorly planned, wasteful city lights have already drowned out the stars for them. on Mon, 10 Aug 2026 05:50:38 GMT

paradegrotesque@mastodon.sdf.org — Mon, 10 Aug 2026 05:50:38 GMT

@sundogplanets

Best night sky experience for me was the Seychelles.

I was standing there, the ocean gently "breathing" against the sand and the milky way above us.

If you stared long enough, it felt like you were falling towards the stars. No planes, no satellites, nothing but stars above and gentle waves below.

Reply to Most city dwellers don't know how much of the night sky has already been stolen by billionaires, because poorly planned, wasteful city lights have already drowned out the stars for them. on Mon, 10 Aug 2026 05:35:53 GMT

axomamma@mastodon.online — Mon, 10 Aug 2026 05:35:53 GMT

@sundogplanets When I was 14, 1972, in my back yard in Ibadan, Nigeria, lying on my back on the ground, with the night sounds all around and the most enormous, star-filled sky I'll ever see.

Reply to Most city dwellers don't know how much of the night sky has already been stolen by billionaires, because poorly planned, wasteful city lights have already drowned out the stars for them. on Mon, 10 Aug 2026 05:34:24 GMT

kevinrj@mastodon.social — Mon, 10 Aug 2026 05:34:24 GMT

@sundogplanets another thought experiment should be, how can people who are blind have an “overview effect" experience? A real question, since all of the “overview effect” experiences I've read about are visual.

Reply to Most city dwellers don't know how much of the night sky has already been stolen by billionaires, because poorly planned, wasteful city lights have already drowned out the stars for them. on Mon, 10 Aug 2026 05:30:01 GMT

grb090423@mastodon.social — Mon, 10 Aug 2026 05:30:01 GMT

@fluffgar @sundogplanets

I totally get this! You've reminded me of a moment I had as a child, looking up at the night sky. I was stood on an old log and, as I looked, I suddenly felt as though I was going to fall into it and had to hold onto my mum next to me. It was an amazing moment. (And thank you for reminding me of it! )

Reply to Most city dwellers don't know how much of the night sky has already been stolen by billionaires, because poorly planned, wasteful city lights have already drowned out the stars for them. on Mon, 10 Aug 2026 05:29:38 GMT

patrickhadfield@mastodon.scot — Mon, 10 Aug 2026 05:29:38 GMT

@sundogplanets there are many! But a beach in the Sinai rates highly in my memory (it was nearly fifty years ago).

Reply to Most city dwellers don't know how much of the night sky has already been stolen by billionaires, because poorly planned, wasteful city lights have already drowned out the stars for them. on Mon, 10 Aug 2026 05:25:05 GMT

grb090423@mastodon.social — Mon, 10 Aug 2026 05:25:05 GMT

@sundogplanets

"Infinity's doorstep"... This is where I'd love to be.

I need to find one, but in the south east of a crowded England, I think is going to be difficult.

I'll need to travel. Maybe up to the dark sky reserve in Northumberland (it's not flat though.)

Reply to Most city dwellers don't know how much of the night sky has already been stolen by billionaires, because poorly planned, wasteful city lights have already drowned out the stars for them. on Mon, 10 Aug 2026 05:18:57 GMT

jappel@wandering.shop — Mon, 10 Aug 2026 05:18:57 GMT

@sundogplanets Also the Mojave for me, specifically Fort Irwin, in April 1985. My battalion was on our rotation to the National Training Center which translated to a month in the desert.

Reply to Most city dwellers don't know how much of the night sky has already been stolen by billionaires, because poorly planned, wasteful city lights have already drowned out the stars for them. on Mon, 10 Aug 2026 05:04:02 GMT

thefathippy@mastodon.world — Mon, 10 Aug 2026 05:04:02 GMT

@stibbons

When I visited last century, camping was at the base of Uluru. We arrived at night, and I was staggered to see it blotted out a lot of stars!

But yes, the stars out there were truly awe inspiring.

@sundogplanets

Reply to Most city dwellers don't know how much of the night sky has already been stolen by billionaires, because poorly planned, wasteful city lights have already drowned out the stars for them. on Mon, 10 Aug 2026 05:00:15 GMT

rkrishnan@hachyderm.io — Mon, 10 Aug 2026 05:00:15 GMT

@sundogplanets It is the same with rest of the electromagnetic spectrum. We the radio amateurs operating in the HF bands have been affected by cheap LED lighting (LED is not the problem, the cheap PWM based power supply without proper filtering is). Even though the rules/law exists, no one is interested to enforce it. At around 6pm, the HF noise floor jumps by a few db and no signals are heard, especially in the lower HF bands. It is getting worse and worse every day to the point where city dwellers cannot operate and enjoy this hobby anymore. People have invented new ways like "parts/summits on the air" to combine other outdoor activities with radio. But no everyone can do that..

Reply to Most city dwellers don't know how much of the night sky has already been stolen by billionaires, because poorly planned, wasteful city lights have already drowned out the stars for them. on Mon, 10 Aug 2026 04:59:37 GMT

seacow@mastodon.art — Mon, 10 Aug 2026 04:59:37 GMT

@sundogplanets there’s an irony that city-dwelling is inherently better for nature – people clustered together in smaller dwellings need less land per person, less energy, etc. – but also disconnects people from nature

i like to think that we’ll figure out how to square that circle in future, with cities that are much more integrated into the natural world. i agree fighting back against light pollution is one important battle

Reply to Most city dwellers don't know how much of the night sky has already been stolen by billionaires, because poorly planned, wasteful city lights have already drowned out the stars for them. on Mon, 10 Aug 2026 04:54:29 GMT

robpike@cosocial.ca — Mon, 10 Aug 2026 04:54:29 GMT

@spacelizard @sundogplanets The night I was there, as the sun went down the whole hillside exploded with the laughs of dozens, maybe hundreds, of kookaburras. Just to make it even better.

Reply to Most city dwellers don't know how much of the night sky has already been stolen by billionaires, because poorly planned, wasteful city lights have already drowned out the stars for them. on Mon, 10 Aug 2026 04:49:39 GMT

uselaine@mastodon.online — Mon, 10 Aug 2026 04:49:39 GMT

@inthehands @sundogplanets
Oh, this reminds me of where I was for Hale-Bopp! It was a small town in eastern Hungary, and I remember looking out of an office window across the jumble of central European rooftops each evening as it gradually traversed the sky.

Reply to Most city dwellers don't know how much of the night sky has already been stolen by billionaires, because poorly planned, wasteful city lights have already drowned out the stars for them. on Mon, 10 Aug 2026 04:44:26 GMT

rletot@mamot.fr — Mon, 10 Aug 2026 04:44:26 GMT

@sundogplanets
also, I've gone to the French Alps every summer for a few years now, and there the sky is always gorgeous at night. Even in the village, find a dark spot and just look up and bam

This year we did a bit of stargazing at night, in a valley away from the village, and seeing the glorious night sky with the dark voids of the mountains looming on each side is also quite an experience. Like the sky is being swallowed by something gigantic...

Reply to Most city dwellers don't know how much of the night sky has already been stolen by billionaires, because poorly planned, wasteful city lights have already drowned out the stars for them. on Mon, 10 Aug 2026 04:42:22 GMT

unsafelyhotboots@sharkey.world — Mon, 10 Aug 2026 04:42:22 GMT

@sundogplanets@mastodon.social capitol reef national park. We could see the Milky Way with the naked eye out there.

Reply to Most city dwellers don't know how much of the night sky has already been stolen by billionaires, because poorly planned, wasteful city lights have already drowned out the stars for them. on Mon, 10 Aug 2026 04:38:40 GMT

hub@cosocial.ca — Mon, 10 Aug 2026 04:38:40 GMT

@sundogplanets I was in Utah in the middle of nowhere. I don’t remember it being like that anywhere else I had been. It was in 2007.

Reply to Most city dwellers don't know how much of the night sky has already been stolen by billionaires, because poorly planned, wasteful city lights have already drowned out the stars for them. on Mon, 10 Aug 2026 04:36:44 GMT

hiway@mastodon.social — Mon, 10 Aug 2026 04:36:44 GMT

@sundogplanets It's cloudy most of the year, but when it isn't, this is my view outside my home. Seeing this regularly reminds me why people felt the urge to come up with theories to explain it far before we had the tools to investigate.

Reply to Most city dwellers don't know how much of the night sky has already been stolen by billionaires, because poorly planned, wasteful city lights have already drowned out the stars for them. on Mon, 10 Aug 2026 04:35:37 GMT

nyquildotorg@gts.nyquil.org — Mon, 10 Aug 2026 04:35:37 GMT

@sundogplanets on an island in southeast Alaska, the whole sky suddenly lit up a really intense red from the northern lights

Reply to Most city dwellers don't know how much of the night sky has already been stolen by billionaires, because poorly planned, wasteful city lights have already drowned out the stars for them. on Mon, 10 Aug 2026 04:31:24 GMT

miss_rodent@girlcock.club — Mon, 10 Aug 2026 04:31:24 GMT

@sundogplanets The middle of the mojave desert, around 2010 or so, not too far from death valley.

2nd place ... I don't remember exactly where it was, it was on the drive over the mountians on a trip from New York to New Hampshire, around 2002-2003 - we stopped on some sketchy one-car-wide mountain road in the middle of the night.

Reply to Most city dwellers don't know how much of the night sky has already been stolen by billionaires, because poorly planned, wasteful city lights have already drowned out the stars for them. on Mon, 10 Aug 2026 04:30:53 GMT

rletot@mamot.fr — Mon, 10 Aug 2026 04:30:53 GMT

@sundogplanets
Decades ago, in the Hungarian plain during a trip. Just a huge grassland with nothing to block the horizon, no light in sight... I woke up in the night, and wow. Just wow. The Milky Way was gorgeous, the stars were soooo numerous, the sky so immense in all directions... How small and lucky I felt