I suppose that most experienced observers agree that the darkness of the background sky strongly influences the chance of detecting detail in deep sky objects. Several factors contribute to the background brightness, the most annoying being scattered light from artificial light sources.
For Nordic residents auroral glow is another important factor. Even when no visible aurora is present, the radiation from the background is about twice as strong as from the tropics. I'm however a bit uncertain about whether the polar background radiation varies with the solar cycle. Do anyone know anything about this?
Another question: Is there any evidence about variation in background radiation (not related to light pollution) through the night? Is the morning better than the evening?
Inge S
For Nordic residents auroral glow is another important factor. Even when no visible aurora is present, the radiation from the background is about twice as strong as from the tropics. I'm however a bit uncertain about whether the polar background radiation varies with the solar cycle. Do anyone know anything about this?
Another question: Is there any evidence about variation in background radiation (not related to light pollution) through the night? Is the morning better than the evening?
Inge S
