One Fifth of World's Population Can't See Milky Way At Night 612
An anonymous reader writes with this excerpt from Cosmos Magazine: "Light pollution has caused one-fifth of the world's population — mostly in Europe, Britain and the US — to lose their ability to see the Milky Way in the night sky.
'The arc of the Milky Way seen from a truly dark location is part of our planet's natural heritage,' said Connie Walker, and astronomer from the US National Optical Astronomy Observatory in Tucson, Arizona.
Yet 'more than one fifth of the world population, two thirds of the US population and one half of the European Union population have already lost naked eye visibility of the Milky Way.'"
Oh, the Milky Way (Score:5, Funny)
Vastly over-rated sight.
Better still the suds of morn,
By which unsightly stubble's shorn.
Burma Shave
Re:Oh, the Milky Way (Score:3, Funny)
Wow...if that's an actual Burma Shave Highway advert, I have to wonder:
/. submission about the milky way?
How long have you had it on a sticky note at the bottom of your monitor waiting for a
Another interesting stat (Score:5, Funny)
2/5ths of Americans can't see their own toes.
Light pollution or not... (Score:4, Funny)
It's usually right next to the Snickers.
Re:Aren't we in the milkyway? (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Milky Way, hell... (Score:5, Funny)
Also in this month's Cosmos: (Score:3, Funny)
100 Hidden Constellations He Craves!!!
Look great to the naked eye!
Steven Hawking - fun and fearless!
Re:Milky Way, hell... (Score:5, Funny)
You're lucky! There were a hundred and twenty six of us living in a cardboard box in the middle of the road...
Re:Milky Way, hell... (Score:4, Funny)
Re:You don't even know you're missing it. (Score:5, Funny)
I looked up and shit my pants.
So you managed to spot Laxitiva Major? I have some great practical joke stories about that star.
Comment removed (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Milky Way, hell... (Score:3, Funny)
There were a hundred and twenty six of us living in a cardboard box in the middle of the road...
Luxury!
Re:Oh, the Milky Way (Score:4, Funny)
Is there any other kind of die?
Europe, Britain and the US (Score:5, Funny)
When did Britain get moved to a different continent? Or did we get upgraded?
Why? (Score:2, Funny)
In our last vacation, my four-year old spent at least 30 minutes staring up to the night sky with his mouth open...
Did he see Uranus?
Re:Europe, Britain and the US (Score:5, Funny)
Evidently the submitter voted UKIP.
Re:Milky Way, hell... (Score:2, Funny)
You had a road?
Yeah, but... (Score:5, Funny)
I'm selling my house in Spokane. You can generally see the milky way, and hang out with the deer and elk while you do it.
Nice spot, 10 acres of farmland within viewing distance of a lake (barely), miles of bike trails along the river, ... but I couldn't take the trade-off.
You see, to get all that you have to live in Spokane.
Re:I can see about 20 (Score:1, Funny)
Re:Oh, the Milky Way (Score:1, Funny)
Not being an American, I'd never heard of Burma Shave. When these rhymes started appearing on Slashdot I naively assumed that a burma shave was one for the ladies, or worse, and I feared to Google it. And now, having overcome my trepidation, I'm rather disappointed.
Re:Why? (Score:4, Funny)
Leela: "I don't get it."
Professor: "I'm sorry, rattaroaz, but astronomers renamed Uranus in 2008 to end that stupid joke once and for all."
rattaroaz: "Oh. What's it called now?"
Professor: "Urectum."
Re:Well... I could. (Score:5, Funny)
I live in a small town in Finland. Actually at the outskirts of the town. I just love the sensation, when on a clear winter night, I tilt my head back I can see the steam emanating from my body, illuminated by the moon. And after couple of seconds of adjusting can see a clear image of the milky way across the sky.
After this I roll naked in the snow, take a shot of Koskenkorva, yell 'PERRRRKELE' and head back to the sauna. Amazing! =)
(Haha, no need to thank for the mental image!)
Re:If light pollution is a problem where you live. (Score:3, Funny)
I tried that, but they arrested my two girlfriends.
Re:You don't even know you're missing it. (Score:1, Funny)
Re:Milky Way, hell... (Score:1, Funny)
They don't light the streets in Tucson so you can't see the potholes...
Has nothing to do with light pollution....
Re:Milky Way, hell... (Score:5, Funny)
Pro-tip: turn on your headlights.
Re:Why? (Score:4, Funny)
Rectum? Damn near killed em!
Re:Well... I could. (Score:5, Funny)
And no, I don't know what that is in the metric system
American Degrees are called "Degrees" in metric. The conversion factor works like this:
American Degree = d'
Metric Degree = D
D = -(d' * e^(i*pi))
Re:Milky Way, hell... (Score:3, Funny)
Oh, I didn't realize that you drove at night with the headlights on your car turned off. My mistake.
Re:I can't blame him (Score:1, Funny)
You know, people who've never seen it are ripe for being pranked.
"What the hell is that?"
"OMG! V645 Centauri must have gone supernova! At this size it'll be here in 2 years... and it'll boil all the water off the earth!"
(heh heh)
Re:Well... I could. (Score:5, Funny)
'It was very dark.'
I remember once, while camping, it was so dark, it took three of us to see if the fire was lit.