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February\u2019s Night Sky Notes: How Can You Help Curb Light Pollution?<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Light pollution has long troubled astronomers, who generally shy away from deep sky observing under full Moon skies. The natural light from a bright Moon floods the sky and hides views of the Milky Way, dim galaxies and nebula, and shooting stars. In recent years, human-made light pollution has dramatically surpassed the interference of even a bright full Moon, and its effects are now noticeable to a great many people outside of the astronomical community. Harsh, bright white LED streetlights, while often more efficient and long-lasting, often create unexpected problems for communities replacing their old street lamps. Some notable concerns are increased glare and light trespass, less restful sleep, and disturbed nocturnal wildlife patterns. There is increasing awareness of just how much light is too much light at night. You don\u2019t need to give in to despair over encroaching light pollution; you can join efforts to measure it, educate others, and even help stop or reduce the effects of light pollution in your community.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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<\/a><\/figure>Amateur astronomers and potential citizen scientists around the globe are invited to participate in the\u00a0Globe at Night (GaN)<\/a>\u00a0program to measure light pollution. Measurements are taken by volunteers on a few scheduled days every month and submitted to their database to help create a comprehensive map of light pollution and its change over time. GaN volunteers can take and submit measurements using multiple methods ranging from low-tech naked-eye observations to high-tech sensors and smartphone apps.<\/p>\n Globe at Night citizen scientists\u00a0can use the following methods to measure light pollution and submit their results:<\/p>\n Night Sky Network members joined a telecon with Connie Walker of Globe at Night in 2014 and had a lively discussion about the program\u2019s history and how they can participate. The audio of the telecon, transcript, and links to additional resources can be found on their\u00a0dedicated resource page<\/a>.<\/p>\n DarkSky International<\/a>\u00a0has long been a champion in the fight against light pollution and a proponent of smart lighting design and policy. Their website (at\u00a0darksky.org<\/a>) \u00a0provides many resources for amateur astronomers and other like-minded people to help communities understand the negative impacts of light pollution and how smart lighting policies can not only help bring the stars back to their night skies but make their streets safer by using smarter lighting with less glare. Communities and individuals find that their nighttime lighting choices can help save considerable sums of money when they decide to light their streets and homes \u201csmarter, not brighter\u201d with shielded, directional lighting, motion detectors, timers, and even choosing the proper \u201ctemperature\u201d of new LED light replacements to avoid the harsh \u201cpure white\u201d glare that many new streetlamps possess. Their pages on\u00a0community advocacy<\/a>\u00a0and on\u00a0how to choose dark-sky-friendly lighting<\/a>\u00a0are extremely helpful and full of great information. There are even\u00a0local chapters of the IDA<\/a>\u00a0in many communities made up of passionate advocates of dark skies.<\/p>\n DarkSky International has notably helped usher in \u201cDark Sky Places<\/a>\u201c, areas around the world that are protected from light pollution. \u201cDark Sky Parks<\/a>\u201c, in particular, provide visitors with incredible views of the Milky Way and are perfect places to spot the wonders of a meteor shower. These parks also perform a very important function, showing the public the wonders of a truly dark sky to many people who may have never before even seen a handful of stars in the sky, let alone the full, glorious spread of the Milky Way.\u00a0<\/p>\n More research into the negative effects of light pollution on the\u00a0health of humans<\/a>\u00a0and the\u00a0environment<\/a>\u00a0is being conducted than ever before. Watching the nighttime light slowly increase in your neighborhood, combined with reading so much bad news, can indeed be disheartening! However, as awareness of light pollution and its negative effects increases, more people are becoming aware of the problem and want to be part of the solution. There is even an episode of PBS Kid\u2019s\u00a0SciGirls<\/a>\u00a0where the main characters help mitigate light pollution in their neighborhood!<\/p>\n Astronomy clubs are uniquely situated to help spread awareness of good lighting practices in their local communities in order to help mitigate light pollution. Take inspiration from\u00a0Tucson, Arizona<\/a>, and other dark sky-friendly\u00a0communities<\/a>\u00a0that have adopted good lighting practices. Tucson even reduced its skyglow by 7% after its own\u00a0citywide lighting conversion<\/a>, proof that communities\u00a0can bring the stars back with smart lighting choices.<\/p>\n Originally posted by Dave Prosper: November 2018 Powered by WPeMatico<\/a><\/small><\/p>\n Get The Details…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Light pollution has long troubled astronomers, who generally shy away from deep sky observing under full Moon skies. The natural light from a bright Moon floods the sky and hides views of the Milky Way, dim galaxies and nebula, and shooting stars. In recent years, human-made light pollution has dramatically surpassed the interference of even [\u2026] Continue reading \n
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Last Updated by Kat Troche: January 2025<\/em><\/p>\n