Did You Know
Researchers from Italy and the US recently published a world atlas of night sky brightness. As a result of population growth, per-capita light use, and poorly designed lighting, two–thirds of Americans can no longer see the Milky Way from their backyard. 99% of the US population lives in an area that scientists consider light polluted. The projection for the future is bleak; the rate at which light pollution is increasing will leave almost no dark skies in the contiguous US by 2025. It is estimated that a child born today has less than a 1 in 10 chance of ever experiencing a truly dark sky. That child's best chance to see a natural night is likely to be in a national park. With improved management of the night sky resource, parks can continue to provide an unfettered glimpse of the cosmos for all Americans.
Images: P. Cinzano, F. Falchi (University of Padova), C. D. Elvidge (NOAA National Geophysical Data Center, Boulder). Copyright Royal Astronomical Society. Reproduced from the Monthly Notices of the RAS by permission of Blackwell Science. http://www.lightpollution.it/dmsp/