Den 17-10-2023 kl. 09:12 skrev Dingbat:
> On Tuesday, October 17, 2023 at 1:54:25 AM UTC+5:30, Anders D. Nygaard wrote:
>> Den 12-10-2023 kl. 14:19 skrev Bertel Lund Hansen:
>>> Peter Moylan wrote:
>>>
>>>> As I understand it, the main complaints about light pollution come from
>>>> astronomers.
>>>
>>> I once read an article by an astronomer. He was excited because he had
>>> discovered a new star (or soemthing else). He decided to celebrate it by
>>> going to the cinema and watch a movie - knowing that it would make work
>>> impossible for a week.
>>>
>>> But it's not just astronomers as you also point out. If you live in a
>>> world of constant background noise (like most people do), you don't know
>>> what silence is. And if you live in the sea of light that city people
>>> do, you don't know what darkness is.
>>
>> When we were on Svalbard, we took a guided tour into one of the now
>> disused coal mines. At some point, the guide asked us all to hold our
>> breath, and he'd switch off the lights.
>>
>> I've tried dark before, but not the absolute quiet we got out of that.
>>
> Why would it be quieter than before the light was turned off?

For one, psychologically. Secondly, it was a single exercise in dark and
quiet.

> What do the Norwegians call the large island? Svalbard is the
> archipelago. AFAIK, the Dutch call both the large island and
> the archipelago Spitsbergen.

The large island is "Spitsbergen" (and the second-largest is
"Nordaustlandet" - the land of/at north east).
Most of Svalbard is a natural reserve, where random tourists like
us do not go. We didn't even get to the end of the (IIRC) 24 km of
main road there.

/Anders, Denmark

Anders D. Nygaard <news2012adn@gmail.com> wrote:

> Den 17-10-2023 kl. 09:12 skrev Dingbat:
> > On Tuesday, October 17, 2023 at 1:54:25?AM UTC+5:30, Anders D. Nygaard:
> >> Den 12-10-2023 kl. 14:19 skrev Bertel Lund Hansen:
> >>> Peter Moylan wrote:
> >>>
> >>>> As I understand it, the main complaints about light pollution come
> >>>> from astronomers.
> >>>
> >>> I once read an article by an astronomer. He was excited because he had
> >>> discovered a new star (or soemthing else). He decided to celebrate it
> >>> by going to the cinema and watch a movie - knowing that it would make
> >>> work impossible for a week.
> >>>
> >>> But it's not just astronomers as you also point out. If you live in a
> >>> world of constant background noise (like most people do), you don't
> >>> know what silence is. And if you live in the sea of light that city
> >>> people do, you don't know what darkness is.
> >>
> >> When we were on Svalbard, we took a guided tour into one of the now
> >> disused coal mines. At some point, the guide asked us all to hold our
> >> breath, and he'd switch off the lights.
> >>
> >> I've tried dark before, but not the absolute quiet we got out of that.
> >>
> > Why would it be quieter than before the light was turned off?
>
> For one, psychologically. Secondly, it was a single exercise in dark and
> quiet.
>
> > What do the Norwegians call the large island? Svalbard is the
> > archipelago. AFAIK, the Dutch call both the large island and
> > the archipelago Spitsbergen.
>
> The large island is "Spitsbergen" (and the second-largest is
> "Nordaustlandet" - the land of/at north east).
> Most of Svalbard is a natural reserve, where random tourists like
> us do not go. We didn't even get to the end of the (IIRC) 24 km of
> main road there.

Yes, 'Noord-Oostland', also from Dutch.
It is uninhabited, and I don't think tourists go there,
beyond looking at it from a cruise ship,

Jan