LIGHT POLLUTION IN CHOAPA VALLEY

This is a problem that grows everyday (and everynight), and it’s a misunderstanding of “progress” or “better life quality” at our country.
In past years, Chile subscribe a regulation for light sources located from II to IV Regions in response to E.S.O. and others astronomy organizations, in order to avoid more light pollution...not only in the urban zones, also in rural places.
But as many others regulations it become useless, because there is no supervision from the authorities and there is no teaching and information for the people about that, form the government...
So, most of the mining facilities, industry, rural houses, publicity signals located at rural places produce light pollution.
Even worse, because this lack of supervision, the next light sources yet not installed maybe will be wrong lamps or wrong oriented lamps...
I personally talk about this with the former Mayor of Illapel, but he confess me that the Municipalidad of Illapel puts lights bulbs of much more power than the suggested lights…(laughing)

I think we must do an effort to convince authorities about the necessary process of orientation from the main level to the people, specially to the industry and mining camps/facilities.

Next generation will need the skies, as we!
Comtemplation of skies is a very important aspect of human beings –in fact astronomy was the first science in earth-, we cannot dismiss it, for the next generations!

In the next pictures you can see examples of the problem…at last I add a copy of the Regulation (official law) in Spanish

Illapel light reflected on clouds…it’s an enormous cone of light for a little town, this image was taked about 7 kms from downtown…

 

Another picture, same place, Illapel town light pollution worse because powerful light beams to the sky!

 

Near ten kilometres from downtown, at Auco. You can see much more light pollution from mining plants…
This is a 30 second exposure…

 

Another example, a mining plant without any light regulation, as usual…near Illapel town. Can you see stars?

 

It’s the sky at the same place, near Auco, but oriented far away from mining plant lights…this sky is beautifull and shall be our main to preserve it.

 

Instead, lights installed at other rural places like Plan de Hornos and Asiento Viejo populations are better, still not optimal, but it’s a good starting point. 30 sec. exposure and you could see many stars and constellations...

 

Standard light pollution in Chile Download PDF (Spanish Version)

Regulation of light pollution in chile Download PDF (Spanish Version)