Wednesday, August 8, 2007
As I was slowly making my way out of Beartown (the paved road through the park isn't in the greatest shape) and then down into Great Barrington (in search of FOOD!) and then along side roads to get back to the highway and head for home, I was surprised to notice how dark it was. It never really gets dark in the Albany area - there's simply too much of what we called "light pollution" back when I was studying that astronomy stuff in college and grad school. On a cloudy night, the clouds reflect the light coming up from below and the sky ends up a dim orange-ish color, and even on a clear night it doesn't really get all that dark.
Back when I was in college a friend came to visit me at my parents' place. She'd grown up outside of Philadelphia (with even more light pollution than Albany!) and was struck by how dark it got at night out in the country. I live in Albany because it's convenient, not because I like it here, and I guess this is another sign that I've been living here too long, because tonight I was struck by it, too. Just another thing I miss from living out in the country...
JMH
