A citizen science initiative called Globe at Night has some sobering news for humanity. Our artificial light is drowning out the night sky for more and more people. And it’s happening more rapidly than thought. Globe at Night is an international citizen science project run by the National Science Foundation’s NOIRLab. It raises awareness about … Continue reading 'Light Pollution is Obscuring the Night Sky. RIP Stargazing'
“The introduction of artificial light probably represents the most drastic change human beings have made to their environment.”We should be able to see several thousand stars on a clear night. We should be able to see the grand arc of the Milky Way, too. But that’s becoming increasingly difficult for more and more people. Our growing artificial lighting is responsible, but it’s difficult to measure with satellites.
These are example star charts used in the Globe at Night citizen science project. These are the ones from 30north showing the Orion constellation. Participants matched their naked eye view with these charts. The upper left is representative of the view from a city centre, and the bottom right is representative of the view from a remote location. Image Credit: KybaThe study shows that our growing light pollution is having a profound effect.
Yet this is about more than humanity’s contemplative relationship with the night sky, something that reaches well back into pre-history. The increasing artificial lighting clashes with our natural day/night cycles and can be detrimental to human sleep cycles. It’s also disruptive to wildlife since their natural cycles have evolved alongside the natural day/night cycle, too.
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