Motivation for the Optical Characterization of Light Pollution in West Texas

We have developed a process for photographing the night sky and analyzing the CCD count data to generate a visual representation of the distribution of light pollution in the night sky. Repeating this process at strategic locations will allow for the accumulation of meaningful data over several years in which the background light pollution is expected to change. The Clean Energy Act of 2007 mandates the change from incandescent to fluorescent lighting at the end of 2011 for residences. The spectrum shift from this change is expected to increase the amount of scattered light in the night sky. We present evidence for the motivation behind mapping the light pollution distribution in West Texas in order to inform the public about conserving dark sky natural resources.