On Tue, 3 Jun 1997, Chan Wei Lik wrote:

I just want to ask  one thing.

"They said so on the news this

evening? just before eleven. Perfect night for gazing, they said, no clouds
in the sky and there's a new moon, too.<<

Nerima is smack in the middle of Tokyo. Don't you think the light
polution would block out the stars? 

I've lived in big cities - as long as the air pollution and humidity are
low, you *CAN* see the stars. Just not anywhere near as many as you can
see away from the city. The difference is that the fainter stars and the
Milky Way are not particularly visible in a city. And nearby lights are
usually more important than lights even a kilometer or two away (again,
depending on air pollution and humidity). You have to remember that most
of the atmosphere is crammed into the first 10000 meters of altitude. So,
as long as the air is not clogged with a lot of light scattering
particles, even a short distance from nearby light sources will provide
quite a bit of sky darkening as far as naked eye viewing is concerned.

Of course, the BEST viewing remains on a cloudless, moonless night many
kilometers from any city in high dry mountains. 

-- 
Benjamin Franz
"I like looking at the stars, too! But did you know...you can see them
_much_ better ---- if you lean back?"
                               -- Newstar, Elf Quest