The Lightbulb's Hidden Threat to the Planet

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The familiar view of stars in our night sky is changing, fast! What has caused it? And what will it look like in the Future?

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Credits
Writer: Chris Bartlett
Editor: Nick Shishkin
Thumbnail Designer: Peter Sheppard
Producer: Alex McColgan / Raquel Taylor

With special thanks to:
NASA/ESO/ESA
@astrobloke

Find out more about Dark Sky areas:

#astrum #astronomy #universe #darkskies #stargazing #nightsky #space

[the_sidewinder]

A couple of weeks ago a storm knocked out electricity in large parts of Ireland. I live in the country side with a great view of the sky already but with all the power out for about 20 miles in every direction for a full week, the night sky was so bright. It was during the planetary parade, I took my telescope out and spent hours outside looking at the planets and stars, it was a nice small distraction from all the destruction.

[nathanvandyke]

I've met a few researchers who are looking into redesigning city lighting to improve dark sky conditions. Over the last few years, they've been able to reduce the light pollution in their town of Ephraim, Utah, by about 30%. It's amazing how simple it really is to effectively reduce light pollution. One of the biggest obstacles is just the lack of public awareness that this is even an issue.

[bimblinghill]

I live in the densely-populated English midlands. After I quit my first job, I went backpacking in South America. After a few days in cities I went to San Pedro de Atacama, deep in the desert. That first night I gaped open-mouthed at the sky. The Milky Way was dazzling, with star clusters and dust clouds clearly visible. I will never forget that experience.
Years later I was camping in central Wales on a rare clear night. The sky was amazing! Not Atacama amazing, but pretty good.
If you ever have the chance to go to a dark sky location, do it!

[Corrieography]

I live in the Marshall Islands in the middle of the Pacific. Just about zero light pollution here and the stars are as clear as day.

[TrooperSmithy]

Used to work on ships for a few years and when you are sat there 1000s of miles from land no lights around, looking up to the sky enjoying the view. We always used red light when on the bridge so we can see everything going on. Plus as well got the natural light from the moon helping

[johncantrell]

That was always so stunning when I was serving on a U.S. Navy ship at night. Far out to sea, when you came out at night, the sky would look like brightly lit LEDS, as far as you could see. Never got tired of that sight…….

[mmancino]

I spent a week on the Amazon river, about 200 miles from civilization. The sky was breathtaking.

[kellymoore]

I remember vividly as a young adult raised in a city. Visiting a grandparent in a rural area. THERE ARE SO MANY STARS IN THE NIGHT SKY.
I am 40 now, that time being a little over 20 years now.

[anitapeura]

I was blessed to be raised in a family that went camping and fishing several times a month, and we all watched the sky intently without urban light pollution. My kids were raised the same. I'm sure there are deep psychological consequences, barely recognised yet, for losing touch with our night sky. The environmental problems caused have been known for decades but proper governmental responses to limit this are still very slow in giving it the attention required.

[Arrow]

I grew up in a moderately populated New England city for the first 17 years of my life and I never truly saw the night sky. A friend of mine lived up in Pennsylvania, in the middle of nowhere. We were driving back from dinner one night and we had to take a dirt covered country road surrounded by just farm land and no lights. I looked up and saw a sea of stars and the milky way. I had my friend stop the car so I could get out. I looked up for a while, then just laid down on the side of the road. We both ended up laying there, star gazing for over an hour.

[lemonlemonlemonlemonlemonlemo]

i have seen the completely dark night sky in all its glory, exactly once. i was on a road trip with my extended family, and we were driving somewhere late at night—i don’t remember the details—but i looked out my window and saw the stars, so bright, and i told my parents and they radioed the other car and we pulled over. it was the middle of nowhere, and we were practically the only two cars on the road. i don’t remember the moon being out. with our car lights off, we couldn’t even see each other at first. the sky was glorious. i wonder if i’ll ever see it like that again.

[PsRohrbaugh]

LEDs (140 - 160 lumens per watt) are NOT substantially more efficient than yellow sodium street lights (120 - 140 lumens per watt). People just assumed they'd see the same energy reduction they saw in their homes when they replaced compact florescent bulbs (30 - 70 lumens per watt) or incandescent bulbs (10 - 15 lumens per watt) with LEDs. This boils down to a fundamental misunderstanding of High Intensity Discharge lighting like sodium vapor, combined with a bit of "everything will look nicer with crisp white light rather than the dull murky yellow". It's so stupid and frustrating.

[Singe]

I am thankful to live in Southern Oregon, USA, where a 5 minute drive gets me to Bortle 2-3 skies, and a Bortal 1 Sky Preserve (Lavabeds National Monument) is less than an hour away.

I am eternally thankful to be here, and lament all those who do not have such favorable conditions.

[Myrkanth]

As a child I used to lay on the hood of my fathers 82' Cadillac Coup after sunset. There I would be for hours, looking at the stars, constellations, and milky way. Whole neighborhoods went dark after 9pm. No outside lights. Maybe a few yellow light glows from behind curtains. Only the sounds of crickets and owls to keep me rooted on earth as my mind wandered about space. I miss those days.

[Jackr]

I lived in Ontario during the power outage that hit in 2003. Stars were amazing. We got real darkness again. Incredible. And I honestly had a blast. A quiet city where people were out talking to their neighbours for the first time. Giving away food that would otherwise rot. Contrary to all the apocalypse movies, people randomly jumped in to direct traffic, help strangers. It was fantastic.

[joshuaduitsman]

Thank You for shedding some light on this subject.

[naeimaify]

So grateful to live in Switzerland. If it's not overcast I see stars every night. There is obviously some light pollution but usually you can see the Big Dipper and a lot of other constellations. 🌌🌠

[Robobagpiper]

I remember still being able to see the Andromeda Galaxy with the naked eye from the roof of the Space Science building at Rice, right in downtown Houston, during my undergrad astronomy class in January 1992. To think a major downtown metropolis was around Bortle 3-4 in my lifetime makes me sad.

[acousticpsychosis]

It was the late 80s, I was 7 or 8, and I was camping with my dad and his friends on the river out in the middle of nowhere in Texas... to this day I have never seen a night sky that looked like it did that weekend, just a sliver of a moon, and more stars than I've ever seen before...that image has been burnt into my mind ever since, one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen.

[maryr]

I keep saying that the light pollution has made 2 generations of humans who don't get a daily reminder that we are actually on a planet soaring around a endless universe. They need that to keep them from all the nonsense of social media. I remember laying in the grass at night with my childhood friends staring out at the stars and talking about deeper subjects, ❤❤❤❤