Light pollution is impacting astronomy observatories around the globe. And light pollution is increasing at a rate of about 10% a year. Space-based telescopes are above light pollution, but they are much more expensive. And there are many new ground-based observatories in the works. Many of the well-known observatories were built before large urban sprawl. But today, cities such as Los Angeles and Phoenix are much larger with light pollution spilling into once-remote areas. By Richard Green, University of Arizona How light pollution is harming astronomy around the globe Outdoor lighting for buildings, roads and advertising can help people see in the dark of night, but many astronomers are growing increasingly concerned that these lights could be blinding us to the rest of the universe. An estimate from 2023 showed that the rate of human-produced light is increasing in the night sky by as much as 10% per year. I’m an astronomer who has chaired a standing commission on astronomical site protection for the International Astronomical Union-sponsored working groups studying ground-based light pollution. My work with these groups has centered around the idea that lights from human activities are now affecting astronomical observatories on what used to be distant mountaintops. Hot science in the cold, dark night While orbiting telescopes like the Hubble Space Telescope or the James Webb Space Telescope give researchers a unique view of the cosmos – particularly because they can see light blocked by the Earth’s atmosphere – ground-based telescopes also continue to drive cutting-edge discovery. Telescopes on the ground capture light with gigantic and precise focusing mirrors. These mirrors can be 20 to 35 feet (6 to 10 meters) wide. Moving all astronomical observations to space to escape light pollution would not be possible. Space missions have a much greater cost, and so many large ground-based telescopes are already in operation or under construction. Around the world, there are 17 ground-based telescopes with primary mirrors as big or bigger than Webb’s 20-foot (6-meter) mirror. And there are three more under construction with mirrors planned to span 80 to 130 feet (24 to 40 meters). Light pollution and the Vera Rubin Observatory The newest telescope starting its scientific mission right now, the Vera Rubin Observatory in Chile, has a mirror with a 28-foot diameter and a 3-gigapixel camera. One of its missions is to map the distribution of dark matter in the universe. To do that, it will collect a sample of 2.6 billion galaxies. The typical galaxy in that sample is 100 times fainter than the natural glow in the nighttime air in Earth’s atmosphere. So this Rubin Observatory program depends on near-total natural darkness. Any light scattered at night – road lighting, building illumination, billboards – would add glare and noise to the scene. This would greatly reduce the number of galaxies Rubin can reliably measure in the same time, or greatly increase the total exposure time required to get the same result. The LED revolution Astronomers care specifically about artificial light in the blue-green range of the electromagnetic spectrum. That’s because it used to be the darkest part of the night sky. A decade ago, the most common outdoor lighting was from sodium vapor discharge lamps. They produced an orange-pink glow, which meant they put out very little blue and green light. Even observatories relatively close to growing urban areas had skies that were naturally dark in the blue and green part of the spectrum. And that enabled all kinds of new observations. Then came the solid-state LED lighting revolution. Those lights put out a broad rainbow of color with very high efficiency. As in, they produce lots of light per watt of electricity. The earliest versions of LEDs put out a large fraction of their energy in the blue and green. But advancing technology now gets the same efficiency with “warmer” lights that have much less blue and green. Nevertheless, the formerly pristine darkness of the night sky now has much more light, particularly in the blue and green. This comes from LEDs in cities and towns, lighting roads, public spaces and advertising. The broad output of color from LEDs affects the whole spectrum, from ultraviolet through deep red. The U.S. Department of Energy commissioned a study in 2019 that predicted the higher energy efficiency of LEDs would mean the amount of power used for lights at night would go down. It also said the amount of light emitted would stay roughly the same. But satellites looking down at the Earth reveal that just isn’t the case. The amount of light is going steadily up. So cities and businesses were willing to keep their electricity bills about the same as energy efficiency improved, and just get more light. Natural darkness in retreat As human activity spreads out over time, many of the remote areas that host observatories are becoming less remote. Light domes from large urban areas slightly brighten the dark sky at mountaintop observatories up to 200 miles (320 kilometers) away. When these urban areas are adjacent to an observatory, the addition to the skyglow is much stronger, making detection of the faintest galaxies and stars that much harder. When the Mt. Wilson Observatory was constructed in the Angeles National Forest near Pasadena, California, in the early 1900s, it was a very dark site, considerably far from the 500,000 people living in Greater Los Angeles. Today, 18.6 million people live in the LA area, and urban sprawl has brought civilization much closer to Mt. Wilson. When Kitt Peak National Observatory was first under construction in the late 1950s, it was far from metro Tucson, Arizona, with its population of 230,000. Today, that area houses 1 million people, and Kitt Peak faces much more light pollution. Even telescopes in darker, more secluded regions – like northern Chile or western Texas – experience light pollution from industrial activities like open-pit mining or oil and gas facilities. The case of the European Southern Observatory An interesting modern challenge is facing the European Southern Observatory, which operates four of the world’s largest optical telescopes. Their site in northern Chile is very remote, and it is nominally covered by strict national regulations protecting the dark sky. AES Chile, an energy provider with strong U.S. investor backing, announced a plan in December 2024 for the development of a large industrial plant and transport hub close to the observatory. The plant would produce liquid hydrogen and ammonia for green energy. Even though formally compliant with the national lighting norm, the fully built operation could scatter enough artificial light into the night sky to turn the current observatory’s pristine darkness into a state similar to some of the legacy observatories now near large urban areas. This light pollution could mean the facility won’t have the same ability to detect and measure the faintest galaxies and stars. Light pollution and humans Light pollution doesn’t only affect observatories. Today, around 80% of the world’s population cannot see the Milky Way at night. Some Asian cities are so bright that the eyes of people walking outdoors cannot become visually dark-adapted. In 2009, the International Astronomical Union declared that there is a universal right to starlight. The dark night sky belongs to all people … its awe-inspiring beauty is something that you don’t have to be an astronomer to appreciate. Richard Green, Astronomer Emeritus, Steward Observatory, University of Arizona This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. Bottom line: Light pollution is affecting astronomical observatories around the world. Some of these observatories were built before large urban sprawl. And putting all telescopes into space would be extraordinarily expensive. BlueskyFacebookThreadsBufferShare
In recent years, the growing concern over light pollution has sparked significant scientific inquiry into its environmental and societal impacts. Light pollution refers to the excessive or misdirected artificial lighting that brightens the night sky, thereby interfering with natural light-dark...
Outdoor lighting for buildings, roads and advertising can help people see in the dark of night, but many astronomers are growing increasingly concerned that these lights could be blinding us to the rest of the universe.
All eyes are on France as thousands of its municipalities switch off public street lights at night. Fascinating to read about the analysis of strategies in these areas, in the years 2014-2024 and explore yourself the data in an interactive map provided by Cerema (French public expertise agency for the ecological transition and regional planning)
Example outcome: - Out of the 19,262 municipalities that could be studied between 2014 and 2024, 11,980 appear to practice total light shutoff, 3,547 partial shutoff or large-scale renovation, and 131 have decided to turn the lights back on in the middle of the night.
Packaging process of street lights-good tools and machines can improve work efficiency The workers in the video are packing a long street lamp. The whole process is very interesting. The worker wraps the long woven cloth around the street lamp. The packing tool is a turntable, which can easily rotate the street lamp, making the packing more convenient. The two workers also work in perfect harmony. #YouTubeShorts #ShortVideo #VideoContent #ShortFilm #ViralShorts #ShortFormContent #EngagingShorts #Short #satisfying #shorts #worker #work #machine #tool #smartfarming #gardentips #organicfarming
➡ 1 vol de câble toutes les 12 minutes en France ➡ 500 millions d'euros de dégâts annuels ➡ 15 000€ de coût moyen par incident pour une collectivité ➡ 6 semaines d'attente moyenne pour les réparations
Face à cette escalade, l'éclairage solaire s'impose comme LA solution : ❌ Supprime le problème à la source : Pas de câbles = pas de vols ✅ Garantit la continuité : Éclairage autonome et fiable ✅ Réduit les coûts ✅ Renforce la sécurité
Chez Sunna Design, nous transformons ce défi en opportunité d'innovation. #IntelligenceSolaire 👉 https://lnkd.in/ePJJxKpa
🎥 Crédit vidéo TF1 I Retrouvez la vidéo complète en commentaire #VolDeCuivre #SécuritéPublique #ÉclairagePublic #ÉclairageSolaire
Depuis le 1er juillet, la Ville de Nîmes fait le choix de rallumer l’éclairage public qui était éteint dans les zones périphérique depuis décembre 2022, entre minuit et 5 h du matin.
Cette décision est justifiée par les économies générées grâce à la mise en place d’un système d’éclairage intelligent.
📷 Adobe Stock
Source : Vivre Nîmes, le média de la Ville de Nîmes
7000W Solar Street Light Outdoor LED Lighting IP67 Waterproof 220° Wide Angle Review ✅Buy at - https://amzn.to/4f7uKdr
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Installation is straightforward, and the absence of wiring makes it a hassle-free solution. You can easily mount it on a pole or wall, adding convenience to your outdoor lighting project.
While the light excels in many areas, it's worth noting that optimal performance relies on direct sunlight for charging. In regions with limited sunlight, the brightness may vary. However, for most users, the functionality and performance delivered by this solar street light far outweigh any minor limitations.
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📢 Announcing the launch of the official website for the Art of Darkness project! 🔗 https://artofdarkness.eu
As the lead on communications for this #HorizonEurope project, LUCI is proud to support a growing conversation on how balancing lighting with well-designed darkness can enrich urban cultural heritage and enable sustainable, artistic, and socially meaningful night-time experiences.
The website is now live — beautifully crafted by Christophe Bordes and Nicolas Huguet — and serves as the project’s central platform for: ✨ Sharing research and pilot trials across five European cities 🤝 Fostering collaboration between cities, researchers, designers, and cultural stakeholders 📚 Providing resources, updates, and insights
🌑 We invite you all to explore the Art of Darkness Project!
Visit the site: https://artofdarkness.eu Follow the project on LinkedIn: Art of Darkness Project
A new article has been published in Nature cities by Team Nachtlichter describing the use of citizen science methodologies for monitoring light pollution across Germany,
This is the abstract of the artice:
The image of Earth at night from space, with its constellations of cities, has become iconic. However, our understanding of the source and scale of artificial light emissions is still in the dark, hampering urban environmental protection efforts. In 2021, our citizen scientists used the Nachtlichter app to count and classify 234,044 light sources across a 22-km2 area, primarily in Germany.
We show that such a dataset can be used to translate space-based radiance observations to the more understandable unit of installed lights per km2 on the ground. We find that in German city centers, more total light sources are used for advertising and aesthetic purposes than for street lighting. Furthermore, we estimate that 78 ± 3 million individual light sources remain illuminated at midnight across Germany, highlighting great potential for mitigation. These findings not only offer direct knowledge for artificial light research but also serve as a practical resource for policymakers to mitigate urban light pollution.
Le problème de l'utilisation nocturne de la lumière artificielle, ses effets sur les insectes et autres espèces : Résumé basé sur des études récentes et propositions
A pioneering advancement in the field of organic electronics has emerged from the Institute of Science Tokyo, where a groundbreaking white organic light-emitting diode (OLED) has been developed.This new OLED operates effectively at a remarkably low voltage of under 1.5 volts, significantly lower ...
on va sammuser cette fois ci a revoir toute les photothèques parce que des photos de lanternes a rajouter il y en a... on va brasser des milliers de photos l'ors de ce live...
En espérant de vous retrouver sur les réseaux ça fera plaiz !
Pour rester au courant de l'actualité en République du Congo, suivez-nous sur VOX TV ! Visitez notre site web pour des articles approfondis : http://www.vox.cg/ 🌐 Rejoignez notre communauté sur Facebook : / voxcongo 📰 Suivez-nous également sur Twitter : / voxcongo 🐦 📱 Suivez-nous 👉 https://vox.cg/whatsap
Montpellier, Ville, Métropole et CCAS participe à un projet européen avec 4 autres villes pour réfléchir aux "poches de sombre" à l'intérieur de l'espace urbain. 🌃 Créer des espaces de "respiration lumineuse" dans une Métropole pour permettre aux amoureuxses de l'ombre d'y trouver (aussi) leur compte !
🇪🇺 Quel plaisir de travailler avec #Bologne, #Copenhague, #Oulu, #Tallinn et des chercheureuses de l'#Europe entière ! On comprend son territoire par le sensible, en le vivant au quotidien mais aussi en le confiant à la recherche pour analyse universitaire fine et indépendante. main dans la main 🤝 avec Clare Hart et la Maison des Relations Internationales qui nous apporte au quotidien son expertise.
merci LUCI Association pour l'accompagnement coordination et la communication.
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💡 #LightMasterPlan 💡
Montpellier took part in a European project with 4 other villages to think about "pockets of darkness" within urban space. 🌃 Creating "light breathing" spaces in a Metropolis to allow shade lovers to (also) find their feet!
🇪🇺 What a pleasure to work with #Bologna, #Copenhagen, #Oulu, #Tallinn and researchers from all over #Europe! We understand our territory through the senses, by living it everyday, but also by entrusting it to research for fine, independent academic analysis. 🤝 with Clare Hart and the Maison des Relations Internationales, which contributes its expertise on a daily basis.
thanks to LUCI Association for its coordination and communication support.
Michaël Delafosse Stéphane Jouault Laurent NISON Boris Bellanger Damien Guiraudie Anaïs Dugois Clémentine Papa Nicolas ROUBIEU
Mark Burton-Page Yannick Sutter Mette Hvass Nicole M. Rodrigo Barbosa Université de Montpellier Paul-Valéry Université de Montpellier ENSAM Université Gustave Eiffel
ALL IN TWO SOLAR STREET LIGHT is a revolutionary innovation in the field of solar street lighting. It ingeniously combines two main components to bring about a new era of efficient and sustainable illumination. First part is Solar Panel which is designed to be independently mounted, so its tilt angle can be adjusted freely for maximum charging efficiency throughout the day. The second part is integrated Lamp Fixture, it includes several key elements. like high - capacity lithium battery, which stores the electricity generated by the solar panel during the day. These batteries, such as lithium - iron - phosphate batteries, are known for their long lifespan, often lasting up to 10 years. Alongside the battery is an solar controller. M P P T controller for example, can increase charging efficiency by an additional 25%. The lamp fixture also features a high - quality LED light source. delivering high luminous efficiency up to 200 lumens per watt. Next video we will discuss the advantages of all in two solar street light,subscribe if you are interested.
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Jie Kong another grad exploring the implications of the night hours as a valid area of priority study leading to ideas of improvement and transformation.
She joins the new pioneering field of #nightstudies — “life at night” with the new pioneers such as Shannon Hui Sierra Caley Daniel Dilger who are lifting up #nighttimedesign through International Nighttime Design Initiative (NTD)
La Ville de Metz a décidé de rallumer la lumière toute la nuit dans une large partie de la ville à partir du jeudi 3 juillet dernier. D’ici fin 2025, l’éclairage pourra également être modulé.
En automne 2022, en dépit des craintes de certains habitants, la Ville de Metz avait éteint dans les quartiers pour des raisons économiques.
Alors que 82 % des lampes sont désormais passées aux LED, elle revient sur sa décision.
The New York Times "50 States/50 Fixes" environmental series has published an article about Pittsburgh's new 2700K dimmable LED streetlights. https://lnkd.in/e9_cPY_5 It highlights the work of Flore Marion (Assistant Director, Sustainability and Resilience Division, City of Pittsburgh), Mike Maloch P.E., PTOE (Municipal Traffic Engineer, City of Pittsburgh), Denny Robinson (Lead Project Engineer DOMI), Grant Ervin (former Resiliency Officer, City of Pittsburgh), Avalon Owens (a research fellow at the Rowland Institute at Harvard University, John Barentine (Principal Consultant at Dark Sky Consulting, LLC), Jacob Williams (a press officer for the City of Pittsburgh)
and me. I got the last word. “I would like to teach people that darkness has value,” she said. “That it’s not just the absence of light.”
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