The heavens have changed a lot since the olden days--or perhaps, it’s more accurate to say that we have changed the heavens over the past few centuries. According to scientists who have created a state-of-the-art atlas depicting light pollution around the world, about 4 in 5 people that habitat Earth--including 99 percent of those living in the United States and Europe--live under light-polluted skies. They found that more than one-third of humanity can no longer see our galaxy (or any galaxy for that matter), even on the clearest of nights.
Light pollution has become such a severe problem that in some nations, people are unable to experience a true night sky, because it is permanently masked by the glare of artificial lights. “Most of the world is affected by this problem, and humanity has enveloped our planet in a luminous fog that prevents most of Earth’s population from having the opportunity to view our galaxy,” stated the researchers from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) who were in charge of creating the atlas.
More than a decade ago, some of the same researchers created the first world atlas of artificial night-sky brightness. But the updated version published June 10th employs more sophisticated tools, such as imaging data from a high-resolution satellite operated by the NOAA. The result is a detailed global map of light pollution, that defines the level of brightness at which artificial light substantially obscures astronomical observations. The atlas will be made available for use on the Google Earth mapping system.
Using this information, researchers will be able to study where lighting problems exist and how they may affect people and wildlife. Travis Longcore, science director of The Urban Wildlands Group, believes that with the combination of the atlas and on-the-ground additional data, researchers would be able to gain a higher understanding of the situation at hand.
Though the topic of light pollution is getting more awareness, the problem still continues to grow.
“As populations grow and cities expand, more and more areas on Earth have a hazier view of the night sky”, states Chris Elvidge, a co-author and a physical scientist for NOAA. The research found that the world's most light-contaminated nation is Singapore, whose entire populace lives under skies so brilliant that the human eye never completely adjusts to night vision.
Individuals in different nations, such as , Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Israel and Argentina likewise have completely obstructed perspectives of the night sky. Of course, not everybody on Earth lives under light-dirtied skies. Madagascar, Chad and Central African Republic are among the least affected nations, with 75 percent of their occupants living under skies unobstructed by simulated night light. These statistics support a direct correlation between industrialization and light pollution.
In some parts of the world, the issue is so prevalent that individuals must travel long distances in order to access a strip of land where it's possible to see an immaculate night sky. For example, individuals in Paris need to travel more than 500 miles to discover skies generally unaffected by light contamination. The researchers who developed the Atlas claimed that the area on Earth farthest from having the likelihood of catching a glimpse of the Milky Way is a region close Cairo in the Nile Delta. Other areas where the Milky Way is no more noticeable include parts of Belgium and Germany, territories around Beijing and Hong Kong, and different urban areas, for example, London, Boston and Washington, all of which are industrialized centers of the world.
The worries over light pollution extend beyond aesthetics. Scientists have studied a broad range of other potential economic, ecological and health consequences. Certain studies suggests that the crisis can disrupt the world’s biological systems, modifying the way some animals eat, sleep, reproduce and hunt. Evidence also seems to show that artificial light at night can overturn the circadian rhythms that humans rely on, increasing the risk of a myriad of health problems.
The study also noted that there are strategies and technologies that are increasingly being used to lessen the effects of light pollution, such as street lamps that direct light only downward and “adaptive lighting,” which can use sensors to lower the outdoor lighting at night, especially during times with little traffic. All that said, the authors behind the new global atlas said that despite those hopeful signs, the world’s population and the world’s indifference to light pollution is always growing. They claim it will take large steps in the mindset of humans in order to get any change going. Without this change, our skies will cease to be as beautiful as they once were..