Rant: I used to fight my yard light for hours before looking up

For years I'd wait until after 10 PM to start stargazing, trying to avoid the glare from my own porch light in Portland. Last spring I finally bought a simple red flashlight for $12 and a piece of cardboard to make a shield, and now I can start right at dusk. What's one small change that made your backyard viewing way easier?

3 comments

3 Comments

markm2721d ago

My neighbor's security light was awful until I asked them to point it down.

tara_palmer6d ago

God, the worst is when it's not even your own light. You're just stuck with whatever your neighbor decides to point at your bedroom window. I had to have that exact talk a few years back, felt like I was asking them to remodel their house. The relief when they actually did it was huge. It's amazing how much light pollution comes from just one badly aimed bulb.

paige_martin21d ago

That's a solid fix, but turning off the yard light was the real game changer for me (I just unscrewed the bulb). The red light helps with your eyes, sure, but getting rid of the main light source itself made the biggest difference. A shield can only block so much when the glare is still bouncing off everything. My view improved way more by just dealing with the root problem.