Heads up about light pollution at Cherry Springs State Park

I drove out to Cherry Springs State Park last Saturday night hoping to get some clear Milky Way shots. But when I got there around 11 PM, the sky had this weird orange glow on the eastern horizon. Turns out a new gas well site about 10 miles away started running bright floodlights 24/7. It washed out a lot of the fainter stars in my photos. Has anyone else noticed this getting worse at dark sky spots lately?

3 comments

3 Comments

victorbutler18d ago

I mean, I don't wanna be that guy, but calling it 'light pollution from a gas well 10 miles away' might be a little off. Light pollution from something like that typically falls off hard after a few miles, so a 10 mile distance would usually just give a faint glow at best. Maybe it's just me, but I'd check if there's something closer like new construction or a truck stop that's the real problem.

elliotjenkins9d ago

My buddy Steve drove up there three weeks ago and told me the exact same thing lol. He was stoked for clear skies but said the eastern horizon looked like someone left a parking lot light on all night. @robinson.leo is spot on about those drilling pads, Steve actually found a new well site with LED towers about 8 miles out after checking GPS maps the next morning. He said the light scatter was so bad it ruined his star tracker alignment too. Victorbutler I see where you're coming from but those big LED arrays can punch way further than old lights, especially in flat terrain with no trees in between.

robinson.leo18d ago

A buddy of mine from work ran into the same thing at Cherry Springs about two months ago. He drove three hours to get there and ended up packing up by 1 AM because the glow was messing with his long exposures. He said it looked like a giant streetlight was hiding just over the trees. Drove around the next morning and found a new drilling pad with those tall LED towers that light up everything like a football field. Talked to a ranger who said it's been a headache since they popped up. So yeah, your mileage might vary but I'd bet that gas well is the culprit.