There appears to be a belief that the pandemic-inspired lockdown is making the night sky clearer and darker, and stargazing easier. “I keep an eye on some permanently installed sky brightness monitors that report to the web, and it doesn’t seem there is any significant change anywhere … in some places we see the light getting apparently brighter as seen from orbit.”, “We may be seeing two separate effects: true reductions in light consumption making cities appear less bright than before the pandemic, and air pollution reductions that are letting more light up to be detected by satellites, making images of the cities more bright than before,” said Barentine. However, he’s non-committal for now. We will never be able to stop using artificial light but we can change how we use it and when we use it. They use real images of city skylines captured by photographers, but light pollution has been digitally replaced to show a night sky from somewhere else on the planet. This panoramic image of a Crater Lake National Park in Oregon and the crescent moon was taken by Ben Coffman on a winter morning and it is called A Raising of the Hackles. In polluted cities around the world, it’s a struggle to see the stars in our night skies. “We’ll likely know for sure in a few months after analyses underway now are complete and the results are published,” he says. The Dome is by Sigurdur William Brynjarsson. The photography contest started in 2009 as an attempt to promote the night sky as a natural good that should be conserved and protected. Here are five things to look for in a work laptop, ‘A wake-up call’: how Pfizer’s Covid vaccine could transform the world. Unless, that is, you’re in Flagstaff, Arizona. Also this “fake” photo from Moscow, the city most affected by light pollution: Moscow as it could be without light pollution – NOT a real photo! Of course, there’s a high chance that even if the night sky has got darker during the pandemic, the status quo will likely resume once it’s all over. Here are some of the winners: Eric Nathan‘s photograph of Cape Town’s emblematic Table Mountain won the overall contest and the “Against the Lights” category. ‘If you’re central, get as high as possible on buildings or alternatively, head to the outskirts to a darker, quieter area such as a park to improve your chances of seeing the stars,’ said Toth-Czifra, with the obvious caveat being to do so after lockdown has lifted. “It seems to mix up various ‘what world cities would look like without light pollution’ media stories from recent years with anecdotal reports of slowing down of various commercial and industrial activities in certain cities during the pandemic,” says Barentine. By Maria Sanchez Diez. Enjoy! The criteria for the contest is simple: Photographers must combine both the the Earth and the sky and pay “special attention” to astronomical perspectives and celestial phenomena. ‘Give time for your eyes to adjust to the dark and choose a moonless night, binoculars can help too, you won’t be able to see the incredible view in these images, but it’s a start.’. Note how much more interesting the sky was during the blackout of Aug 14th, 2003 the day before, even with the candle light glowing from inside the house. “The short answer is that we don’t yet know definitively.”. Exactly how useful are these make-believe images? It shows the northern lights in Murmansk, Russia. “The trick is to plan ahead, get as high, or as far, as you can and remove any close sources of light … if you’re central, get as high as possible on buildings or alternatively, head to the outskirts to a darker, quieter area such as a park to improve your chances of seeing the stars.”, Toth-Czifra continues: “Give time for your eyes to adjust to the dark and choose a moonless night. 2 – In public spaces, think about how we can use light differently to the same ends. latest news, feel-good stories, analysis and more, Snorting chicken antibodies may protect us from Covid-19, Covid-19 face masks with valves don’t work, ‘Sobering-up machine’ will cure hangovers three times faster, Remote working for good? “I have been taking measurements in Tucson throughout the pandemic, and I can’t say I sense any difference in the sky brightness from my house on the east side of town,” says Barentine, who thinks that some world cities have dimmed in recent weeks and months, while others have brightened. The pictures show before and after images of cities around the world using the Bortle Scale, a numeric scale consisting of nine-levels, which quantifies the astronomical observability of the stars and any interference caused by light pollution. The Enchanted Forest, by Lyubov Trifonova won the first prize in the “Beauty of the Night Sky” category. By providing your email, you agree to the Quartz Privacy Policy. Thanks to strict local laws on light pollution and a strong local dark sky movement, its consumption of light is vastly lower than other cities of similar population in North America and Europe. In this year’s competition, participants submitted more than 1,000 images from 54 different countries. “It may well be that, like after the “Great Recession,” cities will be hurting,” said Barentine. Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own. All the cities as metropolitan areas class as 8-9, the images show them how they would look if they were level 1-2. A solitary figure stands amid the immensity of the Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia, with the arc of the Milky Way in the background, in Caren Zhao’s Strolls in the Star Rover, which won fifth place in “Beauty of the Night Sky” category. I'm an experienced science, technology and travel journalist and stargazer writing about exploring the night sky, solar and lunar eclipses, moon-gazing, astro-travel, astronomy and space exploration. “We can definitely light these places in ways that preserve public safety and a pleasant nighttime ambience without going overboard and causing unintended problems.”. Malaysian photographer Hui Chieh Teoh turned his lens on the volcanos in the Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park of East Java in Indonesia for Star Trails over Bromo, which won fourth place in the “Against the Lights” category. New York City as it could look without light pollution – NOT a real photo! ‘Light pollution has made the view blank, but getting a view of the stars in a city isn’t completely impossible. So abandon all hope of seeing the Milky Way from a CBD. The picture, called Star Trails Above Table Mountain, was taken with a stack of over 900 30-second exposures, according to the author. And since 80% of the world’s population lives under light-polluted skies, we’re ruining our chances to see them. An “International Dark Sky City,” Flagstaff—population 75,000—is a rare example of a town where the Milky Way is visible from the city center on a clear night. “I don’t think it’s likely, even if an essentially perfect outdoor lighting policy were enacted and vigorously enforced, at least not for a truly big city,” says Barentine, though he notes that the Milky Way is visible from the edges of Tucson—population one million—on a dark night. Which is what makes a new photo series exploring what the heavens would look like without it even more interesting. “Skyglow” is a term used to describe the brightness of the night sky in a built-up area as a result of light pollution. “Getting a view of the stars in a city isn’t completely impossible,” said Zoltan Toth-Czifra from Under Lucky Stars. “We saw the same sort of effect during the “Great Recession,” as demand for petroleum waned and prices sank,” said Barentine, who tweeted a couple of still images from the VIIRS instrument aboard the NASA/NOAA Suomi NPP satellite from January 24, 2020 (new moon) and April 24, 2020 (three nights after new moon): The light output of cities remains pretty constant between the two dates, but the number and distribution of lights on the oil plays changes noticeably. 1 – Be mindful of our use of outdoor light at night, and reduce our dependence on it whenever it’s reasonably possible. However, in a massive metropolis like New York City that same view would necessitate reducing the sky brightness by a factor of 100. Eiffel tower is just one large source of light pollution in the French capital: This Is How To Bring Dark Skies Back In An Increasingly Developed World, EY & Citi On The Importance Of Resilience And Innovation, Impact 50: Investors Seeking Profit — And Pushing For Change, from the VIIRS instrument aboard the NASA/NOAA. “Being at home so much lately, people are starting to notice things about their houses and neighborhoods, like how they’re lit at night,” said Barentine. I'm an experienced science, technology and travel journalist and stargazer writing about exploring the night sky, solar and lunar eclipses, moon-gazing, astro-travel. Less air pollution, less light pollution, more stars. “It’s a good time to examine public lighting, ensure that it’s adequate but not wasteful, and maybe save some public funds in the process.”, “Many people are looking at the night sky for the first time, really, since they’ve been confined at home,” said Barentine. I'm the editor of WhenIsTheNextEclipse.com and the author of "A Stargazing Program for Beginners: A Pocket Field Guide" (Springer, 2015), as well as many eclipse-chasing guides. There appears to be a belief that the pandemic-inspired lockdown is making the night sky … I can see what the company is trying to get at, but it’s a slightly confused message. Photos: What the sky should look like without light pollution. Evgeny Trisko‘s image Above the Light Pollution, shows another reflection of the Milky Way, this one over the Peak Terskol Observatory in the Mount Elbrus of Caucasus Mountains in Russia. Our emails are made to shine in your inbox, with something fresh every morning, afternoon, and weekend. It won third prize in the “Beauty of the Night Sky” category. Like this one of Dubai, where the iconic 830m-tall Burj Khalifa dominates the skyscraper-filled skyline (spoiler alert: this is not a real photo! But many of us are still constrained by the effects of light pollution on the night sky. Note the bland and boring sky with the unshielded "glare-bomb" lights combined with other distant light pollution sky-glow above this house in Goodwood, Ontario. “It seems unlikely that bigger cities can reduce their light levels to bring back Milky Way visibility—the numbers don’t seem to be there,” says Barentine, though he thinks that reducing nighttime light consumption should be pursued if only for the wellbeing of humans and animals. Yesterday I received a eye-catching press release from a company called Under Lucky Stars that informed me that out of the 9,000 stars visible in the night, fewer than 100 are visible from most cities, that 80% of the world’s population lives under light-polluted skies, and that one-third of humanity is unable to see the Milky Way at all. Get your need-to-know All Rights Reserved, This is a BETA experience. Save the environment and do everything you can to decrease light pollution. Blood Moon Rises Over Chongqing captures the progress of a lunar eclipse over the Yangtze River, in China. I believe if people are more aware of this issue we can make a difference. I inspire people to go stargazing, watch the Moon, enjoy the night sky. “For a city to function, it will still need artificial light at night, and whether through reflections from the ground or by other means, some of that light will inevitably end up in the night sky.”. © 2020 Forbes Media LLC. It also said that these 10 cities are the most light-polluted on the planet, with Moscow the “worst” place for stargazers: All good information, but the release was accompanied by the statement that: “during coronavirus lockdown, starry skies are emerging with night time stargazing being more popular than ever” alongside images that attempt to show what no fewer than 27 cities would look like if there was no light pollution.

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