My best Orion shot almost got wrecked by a neighbor's porch light

I was out in my backyard in Boise last night, about an hour into a 90-second exposure of the Orion Nebula. Right when I hit the 80-second mark, my neighbor came home and flipped on their bright porch light, flooding my frame with orange glare. I had to quickly throw my jacket over the front of my telescope to block it until they went inside. Has anyone else had to deal with sudden light pollution like that, and what do you do besides just waiting it out?

3 comments

3 Comments

jake_wells121d ago

Man, I feel your pain but I gotta say I see it different. That porch light is just part of living near other people. My view is you can't really get mad at a neighbor for using their own light when they get home. It's their house. The real fix is finding a darker spot away from homes, even if it means a longer drive. I've had way better luck at a state park twenty minutes out than trying to shoot from my own yard.

karenbailey1d ago

Yeah but what if the neighbor works nights? That light might be their safety thing. Kinda changes the math on asking them to turn it off.

hannahcraig1d ago

Porch lights are a fact of life, but calling them a form of light pollution is exactly right. They often shine sideways and upward where it's not needed, washing out the sky for everyone. A simple shielded fixture that only lights the ground would solve both the safety need and the astronomy problem. It's worth a friendly chat about dark sky friendly lighting, which helps all the neighbors sleep better too.