The night sky It is a superb spectacle that is enjoyed less and less, and with the passage of time it will be much worse. A person born in a place where 250 stars can be seen today, you will only be able to see 100 in 18 years. The reason? Light pollution.
The more light is used at night (we are not talking about one light bulb or ten, but thousands in a small area, almost always for advertising reasons), the lesser will be the ability to observe the stars.
The scientist Christopher Kyba, from the GFZ German Research Center for Geosciences and the Ruhr-Universitat Bochum, leads a worldwide study on the effects of light pollution.
Kyba and his companions analyzed more than 50,000 observations collected by citizen scientists worldwide between 2011 and 2022: it is part of the citizen science project Globe at Night.
As they explain, the change in the visibility of the stars it is caused by an increase in the brightness of the sky of 7 to 10% per year. “The speed at which stars become invisible to people in urban environments is dramatic,” Kyba stresses.
“Yes advertisements and facade lighting become more frequent, larger, or brighter.” points out the researcher, “they could have a great impact on the brightness of the neck without making a great difference in the artificial images.”
Stars Watch Out: How Can You Fight Light Pollution?
The scientists worked with data from 51,351 participants from around the world. Each corresponds to cloudless and moonless nights between 2011 and 2022, from 19,262 locations worldwide, including 3,699 in Europe and 9,488 in North America.
Regarding the current Lighting Policy, where the use of LED is promoted, the researchers note that no improvement has been achieved at the continental level.
Rafael Bachiller, director of the National Astronomical Observatory of Spain, spoke with the world about the problem. “The bright sky background is a real nightmare for astronomers,” to which are added the mega constellations of satellites like those formed by Starlink, by Elon Musk.
Bachiller proposes a simple solution to light pollution: illuminate downwards and with the necessary intensity, not more. “Many children and young people who live in urban areas have not been able to see the Milky Way in their entire lives. and, if it continues like this, before long they will have to travel to remote places to be able to see it”.
