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#lightpollution

2 posts2 participants2 posts today

Here's an image I took of the Whirlpool galaxy in my backyard a few nights ago with an #evscope.

My backyard is not especially dark, there is a lot of #LightPollution. But the camera integrated the starlight for about an hour, and displays the background as black (with the light pollution removed).

Without light pollution, the background would still be black, but the galaxy have more details and would be more defined, because the signal to noise ratio would be much higher.

The night sky has long been caught between two notions of 'environment': one on the ground and the other among the stars. But these two realms are much more closely connected than previously believed. Protecting natural nighttime darkness by reducing light pollution may benefit from a shift in thinking that sees an explicit connection between Earth and cosmos. Read more about how adopting this view would bring both a different ethic and a jurisprudence to bear on the issue.

darkskyconsulting.com/blog/fro

DARK SKY CONSULTING, LLCFrom the Earth to space: the night sky in a continuum of the human environmentThe protection of the night sky and outer space from adverse effects of human activities may benefit from expressly acknowledging that they are part of an environment that extends from Earth to the cosmos. Adopting this view would bring a different ethic

@koen_hufkens @nick_appleyard VIIRS DNB is sensitive to the IR peak in HPS lighting, but not to the blue light (below 500 nm) from "white" sources like LED. So a complete switch from HPS to LED that kept everything else constant could result in a decrease of up to around 30%.

But NOT ALL LIGHT COMES FROM STREETLIGHTS! If we're talking about cities, we're not even talking about most of the light! See for example:

1) doi.org/10.1177/14771535209584
2) doi.org/10.1177/14771535209584

And especially Table 1 here: doi.org/10.26607/ijsl.v25i1.13

The decreases in France are presumably real, and most likely due to a combination of the national #LightPollution law and the movement to completely turn off streetlights late at night (1/3 of French communities now do this). Keep in mind that DNB observes late at night - it's entirely possible that France at 10pm is as bright or brighter than ever.

"Many Indigenous traditions and knowledge systems around the world are based on the stars, and the peoples' ability to observe and interpret stellar positions and properties is of critical importance for daily life and cultural continuity. The erasure of the night sky acts to erase Indigenous connection to the stars, acting as a form of ongoing cultural and ecological genocide."

Whitening the Sky: light pollution as a form of cultural genocide
arxiv.org/abs/2001.11527

arXiv logo
arXiv.orgWhitening the Sky: light pollution as a form of cultural genocideLight pollution is actively destroying our ability to see the stars. Many Indigenous traditions and knowledge systems around the world are based on the stars, and the peoples' ability to observe and interpret stellar positions and properties is of critical importance for daily life and cultural continuity. The erasure of the night sky acts to erase Indigenous connection to the stars, acting as a form of ongoing cultural and ecological genocide. Efforts to reduce, minimise, or eliminate light pollution are being achieved with varying degrees of success, but urban expansion, poor lighting design, and the increased use of blue-light emitting LEDs as a cost-effective solution is worsening problems related to human health, wildlife, and astronomical heritage for the benefit of capitalistic economic growth. We provide a brief overview of the issue, illustrating some of the important connections that the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people of Australia maintain with the stars, as well as the impact growing light pollution has on this ancient knowledge. We propose a transdisciplinary approach to solving these issues, using a foundation based on Indigenous philosophies and decolonising methodologies.
Geyersche Binge im Laternenschein
🇩🇪 Seit 1395/1400 fand am Geyersberg vor allem der Abbau von Zinn, Silber und Kupfer statt. 1704 und 1803 kam es zu zwei Zusammenbrüche des Bergwerks, woraufhin dieses geschlossen wurde.
Die Binge ist stellenweise bis zu 60 Meter tief und wurde hier von einer Anhöhe aus Richtung Süden fotografiert.

🇬🇧 Since 1395/1400, tin, silver and copper have been mined at Geyersberg. In 1704 and 1803, the mine collapsed twice and was subsequently closed.
The binge is up to 60 metres deep in places and was photographed here from a hill to the south.

#NikonD7200 | 18mm | f/3,5 | 262 Sek. | ISO 400 | 01/2023
#Binge #Pinge #Bingestadt #Geyersberg #Geyer #Erzgebirgskreis #Erzgebirge #Sachsen #Deutschland #OreMountains #Saxony Germany
#Bergbau #Bergwerk #Lichtverschmutzung #Langzeitbelichtung #mining #mine #longexposure #lightpollution

Ein Wettbewerb für Insektenfreundliche Gärten in Erkrath ☺️ eine gute Sache hinsichtlich Schutz unserer natürlichen Bestäuber 🪰für Landwirtschaft, Obst- und Gemüsebau.

Leider sorgen die Stadtwerke Erkrath GmbH mit ihrer Werbebeleuchtung des Schornsteins der Fernwärme weitreichend dafür, dass täglich tausende Insekten sterben müssen. Das kann Erkrath sicher besser!!! 🤔 #lichtverschmutzung #LightPollution #bmu

rp-online.de/nrw/staedte/erkra

RP ONLINE · Erkrath: Stadt will insektenfreundliche Vorgärten auszeichnenBy Cordula Hupfer

“Trees and other plants have evolved in a world with natural light-dark cycles, and disrupting that rhythm could alter key ecological processes, like nutrient cycling, species interactions, and even climate feedbacks”

Every day needs a night: study examines impact of artificial light on life cycle of trees
as.vanderbilt.edu/news/2025/04

🔓 Artificial light at night: an underappreciated effect on phenology of deciduous woody plants
academic.oup.com/pnasnexus/art

Vanderbilt University · Every day needs a night: study examines impact of artificial light on life cycle of treesBy Mary-Lou Watkinson

💡 Too much artificial light at night promotes the growth of blue-green algae in #lakes. This has been shown in a large-scale field experiment. If #LightPollution continues to increase, potentially toxic cyanobacterial blooms could become more common in the future. Read more: igb-berlin.de/en/news/light-po

www.igb-berlin.deLight pollution stimulates cyanobacterial growth and metabolic processes in lakes | IGB

"The ideal of a dark and quiet sky is one many astronomers fight to protect. ... Preservation of the night sky across the electromagnetic spectrum is an extension of the stewardship of a human environment that now goes beyond our planet and reaches toward the cosmic ocean. It is also key to the future of astronomical discoveries."

pubs.aip.org/physicstoday/onli