A Not-So-Starry Night: Mitigating the Light Pollution Effects on Telescope Observations at Embry-Riddle

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University’s Daytona Beach campus features a 1-meter reflecting telescope on the 5 ^th floor of the College of Arts and Sciences (COAS). Six Takahashi TOA-150 telescopes are also mounted on the 5 ^th floor veranda of the COAS, which will soon to be joined by an additional seven Takahashi’s at approximately $30,000 per setup. As the largest telescope of its kind in the southeastern United States, the 1-m allows Embry-Riddle faculty to obtain publication-worthy data and provides students an unparalleled opportunity to train on a $1 million research-grade telescope. One of the most recent additions to the Embry-Riddle campus, the Mori Hosseini Student Union, regrettably contributes to the light pollution surrounding the telescopes of the COAS, increasing the ambient light by a factor of 3. Future additions to the campus, such as the newly announced parking garage, will continue to inhibit telescope observations unless specific mitigation procedures are enacted. This research examines the ways in which light pollution can be reduced to allow for the continued, unobstructed use of Embry-Riddle’s assembly of telescopes. A Sky Quality Meter (SQM) will be used to measure the sky brightness in the vicinity of the COAS. The resulting SQM data will be compared to the brightness expected after implementing shielded light fixtures and bulbs with lower color (longer wavelength) temperatures in Embry-Riddle’s near-future construction plans.