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Light Pollution

What is it any way?

Have you had a problem with light pollution? Of course. When you realize that the term "Light Pollution" covers a very broad subject area you soon realize we have all have a problem with light pollution. From the smallest organism to the largest telescope, light pollution plays a part in degrading our nighttime environment.

This website contains many Information Sheets and Internet Links relating to Light Pollution.
Here are a few quotes relating to Light Pollution from our Information Sheets -

IS-018, Theft of the Night..."Most Americans are growing up unable to see the stars their grandparents knew so well. They see the night sky only in pictures or at planetariums.This is true not only in cities, but also in many suburbs where street lamps and other sources of "light pollution" have obscured our view of constellations, meteor showers, and planets.
Light pollution is not a matter of life and death. Yet it is important nonetheless, profoundly so. We human beings lose something of ourselves when we can no longer look up and see our place in the universe. It is like never again hearing the laughter of children; we give up part of what we are.
Such a loss might be acceptable if light pollution were the inevitable price of progress, but it's not. Most sky glow, as scientists call it,is unnecessary. The light that obscures our view of the night sky comes mainly from inefficient lighting sources that do little to increase nighttime safety, utility, or security. It produces only glare and clutter, costing more than $1 billion annually in wasted energy in the United States alone.
Reducing light pollution is not difficult, but it does require that public officials and ordinary citizens be aware of the problem and act to counter it. ...
Curing light pollution saves money while reducing glare. Unlike other issues involving pollution, it presents us with a rare case where we should strive to be kept in the dark. The stars above us are a priceless heritage,not only for scientific knowledge, but also for our identity as human beings. ...
Another fairly painless way to reduce light pollution is with outdoor lighting control ordinances, ...
An outdoor light system recently installed at a prison in Arizona, for example, improved security and reduced light pollution while cutting energy costs by 50 percent. "

IS-019, The American Astronomical Society's Position on Light Pollution
"This is a one-page summary of the position of the American Astronomical Society's Committee on Light Pollution, Radio Interference, and Space Debris on the light pollution issue. It has been endorsed by the Society's Board of Directors, and can be used by anyone to state astronomers' concern and position on this problem. ...
These sites need protection from light pollution (adverse sky glow from electric lights). ...
Light pollution is a serious problem. There are solutions to the problem. ...
Control the emitted light by fixture choice, by shielding, by placement,etc. Use well designed task-oriented lighting, to minimize wasted light, light trespass, and light pollution. ...
All of this says, really: "Use the best possible professional lighting design and installation for the task, including all relevant factors, of which light pollution is one."

IS-028, An Introduction to Light Pollution
"Have you ever heard of Light Pollution? Maybe not. But it is a growing threat to the nighttime environment. Components of light pollution include:
Glare, blinding us and harming visibility. Glare is never good.
Light Trespass, someone's outdoor lights offending us, "trespassing"on our land.
Clutter, trashing the nighttime environment, causing confusion as well.
Energy waste, costing us over One Billion Dollars a year in the U.S.A. alone.
Urban sky glow, which is destroying mankind's view of the universe. ...

IS-065, Ontario Hydro Leaflet on Light Pollution
What is Light Pollution? - Light pollution refers to the glow of light we see at night above cities and towns.
What Causes Light Pollution? - This urban glow comes from improperly designed street and parking lot lighting which spills the light to the side and upwards to the sky.Additional light pollution is caused by lit signs, commercial building lights, sports facilities, and outdoor residential lights. Light pollution was noticed first by astronomers. ... In a broader context, light pollution deprives everyone of the joys of seeing a sparkling night sky." ...
How does Light Pollution Affect Us? - Glare ... Unwelcome Light "Trespass" ...
What Is The Cost of Light Pollution? - Light pollution is also a sign of waste. There is no benefit from lighting up the sky.

IS-090, Light Pollution -- Theft of the Night (A Handout Sheet)
"Have you looked up at night lately? The universe is going away, gone already for many. The universe is an important part of the environment,to astronomy and to the general public.
For most people on earth, the dark skies our ancestors had have disappeared.The problem is urban sky glow, due mostly to too much bad lighting. With good lighting, we all win. ...

IS-107, The Return of the Night" by Harrell Guy Graham
"Imagine a night sky where there are so many twinkling stars you can hardly begin to count them. Then imagine that same night sky lit, not by starlight, but by light pollution from thousands upon thousands of unshielded high intensity outdoor lights. Where there were once countless stars, you can now see an unnatural glow smearing the night sky with a haze of extraordinarily bright artificial light. " ..."Because of light pollution, no stars whatsoever are visible any where nth horizon in most American communities." .

IS-111, Impressions of a Night Sky Unaffected by Light Pollution
Words can scarcely describe what it is like to see a night sky that is unaffected by light pollution. For many, it is a spiritual experience.
Many of us dream of walking out our back door and being engulfed by a night sky so beautiful, so splendid, so overwhelming, that a telescope is not even required to appreciate it. Our ancestors knew such a sky. Without our vigilance, our children and their children will not.It is up to our generation to bring back the night. ...
It is good for all of us who are active in the fight against light pollution to occasionally experience a night sky unaffected by light pollution at least once each year to energize and inspire us to continue our diligent efforts to curtail light pollution. ...
Here, now, are some general impressions of a night sky that is unaffected by light pollution.

IS-120, Light Pollution and Limiting Magnitude
How faint a star can be seen with the unaided eye? This depends on the ability and experience of the observer, the state of dark adaptation of the observer, the sky brightness due to light pollution from electric lights and natural sources such as the Moon, and the clarity of the sky. ...
There are about 14,000 stars brighter than magnitude +7.0, so under ideal conditions an observer could see somewhat under half of them(~7,000) due to only half the sky being visible and atmospheric extinction.
A magnitude +6.0 sky is still a reasonably good sky, with ~2,400 stars visible to the unaided eye. There is some light pollution, and it is usually enough to illuminate clouds so that they no longer appear utterly black against the sky as with a magnitude +7.0 sky. The brighter parts of the Milky Way are still readily seen. ...
Less than 250 stars are visible in a magnitude +4.0 sky, and the milky Way is never visible. Light pollution is a serious problem.
A magnitude +3.0 sky will show fewer than 50 stars, and light pollution is severe. This is the typical sky encountered inside a major city.

The New Jersey Light Pollution Study Commission, after meeting for almost ten months, has completed and submitted its report to the Governor and Legislature. The commission has determined that "the causes of light pollution are many and the effect can be glare, energy waste,light trespass(nuisance light), and sky glow."Clearly, light pollution affects everyone. The twelve recommendations in the report are intended to reduce light pollution and its adverse effects.These recommendations will result in improved lighting conditions for safety and for reduced energy consumption, and will also serve as a means to help preserve the environment. ...

IS-131 , Light Pollution: Are You a Culprit?
Abstract:Many electrical engineers and contractors,architects, and lighting engineers cause light pollution simply because they do not think about it. This article examines the problem, possible future limitations, and some solutions. ...
There has been increasing worldwide awareness of light pollution since the early 1980s. ...
The Australians decided in 1981 to produce a National Standard to limit light pollution. ...

The Problem, The Solutions
Abstract: The problem of light pollution exists most everywhere, and it is still growing rapidly. ...

IS-139, Why Should a City Government Be Concerned About Light Pollution
The public's loss of the stars from the nighttime sky is a real tragedy that every city government should be aware of and not allow.This loss is a testament to our myopia and to our growing insulation from the natural world. Like the canary in the mine shafts of old,astronomers are warning us of the unnecessary loss of a dark nighttime sky in almost every urban area. ... Light pollution represents a waste of a magnitude that almost no homeowner would allow inside their homes.