Sky Brightness Measurements and Ways to Mitigate Light Pollution in Kirksville, Missouri

TL;DR

This study measures and compares sky brightness in Kirksville, Missouri, and Anderson Mesa, Arizona, revealing significant light pollution variations and proposing mitigation strategies such as installing shielded outdoor lighting.

Contribution

It provides detailed measurements of light pollution levels and patterns, and discusses practical mitigation efforts in Kirksville, Missouri.

Findings

Anderson Mesa is 1.3 mag/arcsec$^2$ darker than Truman State Observatory.

Sky brightness varies significantly with azimuth, especially at Truman State.

Mitigation efforts include installing shielded outdoor lights.

Abstract

We describe the level of light pollution in and around Kirksville, Missouri and at Anderson Mesa near Flagstaff, Arizona by measuring the sky brightness using Unihedron sky quality meters. We report that, on average, the Anderson Mesa site is approximately 1.3 mag/arcsec$^2$ darker than the Truman State Observatory site, and approximately 2.5 mag/arcsec$^2$ darker than the roof of the science building at Truman State University in Kirksville. We also show that at the Truman observatory site, the North and East skies have significantly high sky brightness (by about 1 mag/arcsec$^2$) as compared to the South and West skies. Similarly, the sky brightness varies significantly with azimuth on the top of the science building at Truman State -- the west direction being as much as 3 mag/arcsec$^2$ brighter than the south direction. The sky brightness at Anderson Mesa is much more uniform, varying by less than 0.4 mag/arcsec$^2$ at most along the azimuthal direction. Finally, we describe the steps we are taking in the Kirksville area to mitigate the nuisance of light pollution by installing fully shielded outdoor light fixtures and improved outdoor lights on Truman State University's campus.