As someone that has always lived in the UK countryside I am no stranger to the glory of a dark star-filled sky. Sadly 60% of the world’s population has already lost access to the night sky thanks to light pollution. Across Europe and the US that number climbs to nearer 80%.
A team of researchers want to try and track the growth of light pollution and to that end have developed an inexpensive sensor made from “off-the-shelf” parts. Their hope is that people around the world will build and install these sensors to share their data enabling them to track the spread of light pollution. If you’ve got technical skills, this could be a fun project.
Astronomers the world over are all too familiar with the scourge of light pollution. It’s one of the main reasons observatories tend to be located in the middle of nowhere. Of course the night sky is illuminated by natural light from the stars and Moon but also zodiacal light and aurora can shed their own mystical light on our sky.
Light pollution doesn’t refer to these natural wonders, instead it refers to the excessive or misdirected artificial light from human activity. Light pollution not only effects astronomers but it disrupts ecosystems, wildlife and even human health. It typically comes from streetlights, building lighting, advertising and even car headlights.
It generally creates a nasty orange or white glow that hangs over towns and cities obscuring the beauty of the universe. It also interferes with with the behavio.