Dark Sky Awareness
What is dark sky?
What are dark skies?
Dark Skies are night skies as they are meant to be: without any light pollution.
In the United States, 80% of the population can’t see the Milky Way from their backyard. This is because light pollution from buildings and streets block our view of the stars.
Light Pollution
Light pollution is a result of artificial light obtrusively illuminating an area that would otherwise be dark.
Light pollution can be classified in 4 ways.
Glare
Excessive brightness that causes visual discomfort, such as headlight beams or the unintended shine from a streetlight.
Sky Glow
The brightening of the night sky over inhabited areas due to unnatural lighting.
Light Trespass
Light that falls where it is not intended or needed, such as a streetlight shining onto a building.
Clutter
Bright and excessive groupings of light sources, such as streetlights that are spaced too closely together.
Why is Light Pollution Harmful?
Light pollution has negative consequences on human health, animal life, and environment protection. Lights at night have been shown to disrupt circadian rhythm and the natural sleep and wake cycle. Blue light is known to cause vision deterioration in humans as well. Excess light is also credited with hundreds of millions wildlife deaths annually and increases civilization’s carbon footprint.
What you can do.
1. Avoid using blue lights at night. Yellow or amber LED lights give off less light pollution.
2. Use dimmers and motion sensors on lights to reduce light levels.
3. Shield outdoor lighting fixtures to reduce the amount of light that goes up instead of down.
4. Turn off unecessary lights inside at night.
For more information, visit the International Dark Sky Association website
Dark Sky Classroom Activities
It is important to educate the next generation on how to take care of the Earth. We’ve compiled some fun, IDA approved lesson plans to get your kids interested and passionate about the night sky!
Classroom Activities & Resources by McDonald Observatory, University of Texas Austin
Dark Skies and Light Pollution by Universe in the Classroom, Cardiff University
Too Bright at Night? by ScienceNetLinks, American Association for the Advancement of Science
Light Pollution and Shielding Lab and Toolkit by The National Optical Astronomy Observatory
Light Pollution: Beyond the Glare by American Museum of Natural History
Hands-on Activity: Measuring Light Pollution by TeachEngineering, University of Colorado Boulder