One day, you find time to get out of the clutches of your work life and you decide to gaze at the stars.
Something which you used to do when you were a kid.
But the city life with all its glory has diverted you to other ‘fun’ things.
But to your amazement you find that the density of stars has drastically decreased.
‘That’s preposterous’- you say to yourself. That can’t be true.
You are positive that it has something to do with you aging.
You decide to go to your eye doctor and do a thorough check up. The doctor concludes that your eye sight is perfect.
You are delighted, knowing that your eye sight is perfect and that you are going to see those stars again. You spend all day lamenting about it.
You crave for the starry night sky. And you are sure it would look like so :
So, the following night you go to the terrace to rejoice at the sight. But yet see that the sky is not starry at all as you had marveled.
In fact, there is a stark difference between what you had in mind and what you observe.
You get increasingly concerned about it. You ask a few people around and you find out that the answer to this mysterious phenomenon is Light Pollution..
And you start to explore this new bizarre form of pollution.
What is Light Pollution?
Alteration of natural light levels in the outdoor environment owing to artificial light sources.
What does it do?
The impact of light pollution is to reduce our eye’s limiting magnitude. That means that we can see fewer and fewer stars.
The differences in the number of stars that can be seen due to varying levels of background light pollution.
Light pollution competes with starlight in the night sky for urban residents, interferes with astronomical observatories, and, like any other form of pollution, disrupts ecosystems and has adverse health effects.
Light pollution is a side effect of industrial civilization. Its sources include building exterior and interior lighting, advertising, commercial properties, offices, factories, streetlights, and illuminated sporting venues.
The solution does not involve curtailing nightlife, hampering the nighttime economy or compromising safety. It just requires directing lights where they’re needed and eliminating waste.
Here what you can do prevent light pollution.
1) Only turn on outdoor lights when needed—or install motion sensors.
2) Point the lights downward and outfit them with “shields” to prevent light from traveling sideways. The goal is to shine them only where illumination is wanted—not in people’s eyes or on other people’s property (a case of “light trespass”).
3) Lower the wattage of your bulbs and put them on dimmers. Bright lights and dark shadows don’t improve safety, but reduce it.
4) Close curtains at night to keep indoor light in. If you live in a multi-story building, use black-out curtains to prevent bird crashes.
And, of course, please use energy-efficient lights to cut global warming emissions even more than you’ll be doing already.
Inspiration :
Here’s what the night sky looks now, with light pollution.
And here’s how it will look like without it.
This post is to educate all the followers of the blog about Light Pollution, and raise awareness about it.
“Stars can’t shine without Darkness”
and hence i urge you to do your part to curbing Light Pollution.
