Continued from previous message.

names. 
    Traditionally, heavy industry with smokestacks congregated north 
of the moraine along the harbor and rivers fronting Manhattan. These 
poured out air pollution which the moraine for the most part held back 
from the southern parts of the City. South of the moraine was mostly 
residences with minor contribution to air pollution. 
    In spite of the steady evolution of society away from heavy air-
polluting industry in the City, this situation still prevails to a 
substantial degree. The real betterment comes from the gradual removal 
of excess trashlighting as factories are rebuilt. Many are now being 
converted to nonindustrial uses with far less trashlighting. 
    Hence, the darker skies of New York are in this southern zone, 
from mid Staten Island, the Narrows, mid Brooklyn, and mid Queens. The 
zone to the north, including Manhattan and the Bronx, have the typical 
mediocre urban skies with no Milky Way. 
    Milky Way sightings elude Manhattan, the Bronx, and large parts of 
the other boros. In 2001 the City scored the first sighting in recent 
memory from the Bronx. This may be a spinoff of the extraordinary 
clear skies following World Trade Center. For many days the entire 
aviation industry was grounded, freeing the air of airplane pollution. 
A subsequent sighting occurred in 2002 August from the Bronx, with a 
more or less normal aviation activity. 

Manhattan? 
 --------
    Manhattan remains the only boro for which there are no Milky Way 
sightings as yet. It is very unlikely that the current season will 
yield a sighting because the quality of air is substantially the same 
as that of last year. Never the less, it pays to keep an eye out for 
the Milky Way, even tho for sure you will turn in only negative 
reports. 
    In 1999 as part of the approaching millennium astronomers in New 
York set themselfs the goal of seeing the Milky Way from Manhattan by 
the end of the decade. That is, by 2010. With World Trade Center, the 
ensuing disruption of normal city life, and a general slump in the 
national economy the deadline is informally extended to 2012, the year 
New York [hopefully] hosts the Summer Olympics. It is certain that 
only select parts of the Island will be blessed with a sighting, 
someplace like Fort Tryon Park or the new Hudson River Park. And it is 
certain that only one particularly bright segment of the Milky Way 
will be spotted. When that happens, the war against light pollution is 
over. We won.

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