Vaqueirinho, Serra da Lousã, Portugal, Vaqueirinho Republic! : My 18th page... Distracted by the Light

Stars Are Disappearing From Sight at an Astonishing Rate

Few things are as awe-inspiring as a night-time sky awash with stars. Countless generations of sky-gazers have marvelled at the wonders of the heavens, stars spanning the firmament from horizon to horizon. The starry sky is closely tied to human cultural heritage, yet thanks to artificial light and its subsequent light pollution, we are losing this iconic natural resource.

This isn’t new news. For decades, light pollution has been vexing sky lovers and scientists alike. Not to mention the impact light pollution has on the natural world, from affecting human health and birds' night-time navigation to disorienting baby sea turtles and disrupting the mating patterns of fireflies. And lest we forget: the lighting that causes light pollution wastes important resources.

Yet despite this knowledge, light pollution has been challenging to document, especially on a global scale. But now, a new study shows that light pollution is rapidly worsening.

The analysis comes from Globe at Night, a citizen science program run by the National Science Foundation's NOIRLab. The study concludes that stars are disappearing from human sight at a stunning rate. By relying on the observations of sky-gazers across the globe, the researchers found that light pollution has had much more of an impact than indicated by satellite measurements.

From the glimmering swath of our home galaxy, the Milky Way, to a multitude of constellations, the human eye should be able to see thousands of stars on a clear, dark night. Yet thanks to light pollution, 30% of people around the globe and around 80% of people in the United States can’t even see the Milky Way swirl of our galaxy anymore.