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davis_squareThis is a long shot, but there's enough random information on this community that I thought somebody might be able to help.
The city of Somerville is switching from old sodium vapor street lights to new, more energy efficient LED street lights. That's great and I support it, it's good for the environment and for the city's finances. The problem is with my telescope. I have a filter for my telescope that cuts out light pollution from old-style lights, by blocking light at precisely the wavelengths of the emissions spectrum of sodium atoms. Unfortunately, that filter does nothing for the new LED lights. It's nice to have a filter for urban astronomy if you're looking at anything dimmer than the moon, and I don't know what filter(s) to get.
So, here's my random question: Does anybody know the emissions spectrum of Somerville's new LED lights? Or even a single particular wavelength that they don't emit? I'd even be happy with a model number so that I could contact the manufacturer.
The city of Somerville is switching from old sodium vapor street lights to new, more energy efficient LED street lights. That's great and I support it, it's good for the environment and for the city's finances. The problem is with my telescope. I have a filter for my telescope that cuts out light pollution from old-style lights, by blocking light at precisely the wavelengths of the emissions spectrum of sodium atoms. Unfortunately, that filter does nothing for the new LED lights. It's nice to have a filter for urban astronomy if you're looking at anything dimmer than the moon, and I don't know what filter(s) to get.
So, here's my random question: Does anybody know the emissions spectrum of Somerville's new LED lights? Or even a single particular wavelength that they don't emit? I'd even be happy with a model number so that I could contact the manufacturer.
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Date: 2013-02-26 06:44 am (UTC)Glad you finally got a potential answer to your question, besides all the derailing and soap-boxing.
In my experience the City is really quite responsive to questions. I don't mean the 311 line. They seem to be good at a very narrow script, and if you deviate from it too much they don't seem to have the tools to do anything or figure anything out. But if you take an educated guess and email a department, if they don't know they'll often help you find the person / department who does.
The answer from the landscape architect sounds promising. But if you need to confirm it before buying new lenses, try sending this same question in an email to City Planning and to DPW. One of them might be able to help, and if they can't they'll probably help you find someone who can.
Good luck! And happy gazing!