Dani Robertson explains how simple changes at home can beat the scourge of light pollution in your area
They say that home is where the heart is, but is your home where the lights shine? Electric lighting has changed the way we live, and lighting technology has advanced to the point where we can now hold the power of thousands of candles in the palm of our hands. Artificial light at night (dubbed ‘ALAN’) has created its own empire in little over a century, and very few places are left on the globe that have escaped its growing, glowing campaign.
Between 2012 and 2022, light pollution increased globally at a rate of 7–10 per cent each year. The situation is so dire that many places are now working to protect their night skies, such as the newly appointed Dark Sky Community of Presteigne and Norton in Wales, conquering light pollution in an incredible show of community spirit.
Due to the low cost of LEDs, lights have crept into places once safe in the shadows. Daffodil bulbs are being replaced by the glowing LED bulbs of decorative lights in our flowerbeds, from which only light blooms upwards. From rooftops and rafters hang 1,000-lumen floodlights, the silent enemy of backyard astronomers. They wait until you’ve assembled your telescope and tripod with frozen fingers and battled to align with your target before revealing themselves, destroying your night vision and wrecking your stargazing plans.
Light’s dark side
When it comes to light pollution, every bulb counts. We all know how frustrating an ill-placed streetlight can be when it comes to our own personal experiences of trying to stargaze from home.
Light pollution from those individual bulbs accumulates, creating a much bigger issue that impacts us all. This dome of light covers our towns and cities as the wasted light from millions of unshielded bulbs shines upwards.
It’s bad news for astronomers, both amateur and professional. A Royal Astronomical Society study recently found that two-thirds of the world’s largest professional observatories are impacted by light pollution and no longer have natural levels of darkness. If we can’t protect the workplaces of our professional astronomers, what hope have us amateurs in our back gardens and urban parks got?
It’s not only astronomers affected. Light pollution is increasingly recognised as a major impactor on human health. As a disruptor to our circadian rhythm, it has been
