Light Pollution and Night Skies.
Light Pollution:
We are aware of different kinds of Pollution like Air Pollution, Water and Land Pollution, etc. But have you heard of Light Pollution?. Light Pollution refers to the excessive external artificial light misdirected into the night sky by human activities disturbing the natural darkness of the sky. If not taken care of properly, it can have adverse effects on human life, the Biosphere, and even on astronomy and space research. Some negative effects of Light Pollution are listed below.
Human Life:
We humans have evolved for thousands of years according to the Day and Night cycles of Earth. The Light Pollution disrupts the circadian rhythm and makes it difficult to sleep or stay asleep which could lead to sleep disorders and reduced sleep quality. The after-effects of disturbed sleep are known to cause stress, anxiety, and even depression. Research shows that Cardiovascular diseases, vision impairment, and certain types of cancer can be caused by light pollution. And even a lot of energy gets wasted while the light is getting released unnecessarily in the night sky...
Nocturnal and migratory birds use stars and their orientations and the dark sky to navigate while migrating. Lightened Night Skies mislead them leading to collisions which may be fatal. Every year thousands of birds are found dead and Light Pollution can be blamed for this. Moreover, birds tend to be attracted to Artificial Light known as ‘Fatal Attractions’ which may disrupt their migration cycles and cause them to be trapped in urban areas. The natural behavior of birds such as Nesting, Breeding, and Mating cycles may be altered. This can have an effect on ecosystems as well like pollination and the abundance of insects.
Astronomy and Night Skies
By now we have seen the effects of Light Pollution on different aspects of Nature. But let’s come back to the topic – How does Night Sky get affected by Light Pollution? The excess Light that gets ejected into the atmosphere makes the night brighter than before making it difficult for astronomers and space researchers to see the stars and faint and distant Galaxies at night. In the olden days, when there was almost no Light Pollution, people were able to see an arm of the Milky Way Galaxy no matter if we were on Earth. But how many of us have actually seen the beautiful night sky loaded with thousands of Stars and Constellations?
There are places on Earth though where the Original Night Sky can be seen and one such place in the Southern Hemisphere – the largest Night Sky reserve – ‘‘The Aorki-Mackenzie '’ Dark Sky Reserve is where you can see the Original dark sky. But you can see at your place as well and it can done by shutting all the lights in the area and Voila! The beautiful night sky is right above you!
Measures to Control Light Pollution
The reason why Light Pollution is different from other pollutants is that it can be reduced in a really short span of time. Shutting the lights is just Temporary. But some ways to reduce Light Pollution are minimizing the use of lights, controlling the light entering the sky, and replacing the use of Bright White lights with Dim and Warm Lights.
Note: Views expressed by the author are personal
Pic Source: Pixabay
Manognya Akella
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