My entire imaging run got wrecked by a neighbor's new security light

Spent three clear nights in a row trying to get a good capture of the Andromeda Galaxy from my backyard in Tempe. On the final night, my neighbor across the street installed this super bright LED floodlight that just blasted my setup. The subs from that session are completely washed out with orange glare. Has anyone else had to deal with sudden light pollution like this and found a way to talk to neighbors about it?

3 comments

3 Comments

beth_anderson214d ago

My old setup in Chandler got ruined by a porch light like that. Markhall has the right idea about showing them a picture, it really works. I brought over a print of the Orion Nebula and explained how the light washed everything out. They ended up putting it on a motion sensor after that. Sometimes people just don't know until you show them what you're actually trying to do.

markhall8d ago

Glad that worked out for your neighbor too.

markhall14d ago

Have you tried just going over and explaining what you're doing? Most people don't realize how sensitive the gear is. I'd lead with how cool it is that you can see a whole other galaxy from your driveway, then show them a single picture on your phone. The trick is to make them feel like part of the project, not like they're being told off. Ask if they'd be open to pointing the light down or maybe putting it on a motion sensor instead of leaving it on all night.