Interested in #LightPollution? Here are 10 accounts you might like to follow:
@JohnBarentine
@andreas_jechow
@gkalinkat
@raulclima
@Quick
@smorrell
@plecotus
@remiboucher
@Airam_Rguez
@cathperezvega
#lightpollution
3 posts3 participants0 posts today
“ALAN [artificial light at night] is a significant environmental factor contributing to adverse health outcomes, particularly metabolic disorders and mental health disturbances. While findings suggest actionable interventions, further longitudinal studies are required to confirm causality and explore preventative strategies.”
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666558125000260
Fascinating as well as devastating* – night lights @OpenInfraMap
https://en.osm.town/@OpenInfraMap/113801240326057941
* night lights are bad for biodiversity and health of mankind as well as plants and animals. All living creatures in lighted areas will lack deep sleep and rest. Adaptions are in progress, but slowly.
OSM Town | Mapstodon for OpenStreetMapOpen Infrastructure Map (@OpenInfraMap@en.osm.town)Attached: 2 images
New nighttime nights layer! This shows nighttime lights data from NASA's "black marble" dataset collected by the Suomi NPP satellite. The data is from 2023.
It should be handy for identifying unmapped power infrastructure. It also looks cool.
https://openinframap.org/#2.57/40.39/5.63/N
I'm pleased to have a byline in Physics Today on this 'Quick Study' about #DarkAndQuietSkies. Thanks to my editor, Jennifer Sieben, and Jeff Warner for us of his amazing image that accompanies the story.
https://pubs.aip.org/physicstoday/online/44173/Threats-to-the-dark-and-quiet-sky
Just submitted an abstract to the Artificial Light at Night conference #ALAN2025 
In case you haven't written one yet - there's still time, the deadline is tomorrow! https://artificiallightatnight.org/alan-conference-2025/submit-an-abstract-for-alan-2025/
artificiallightatnight.org · Submit An Abstract For ALAN 2025 | Artificial Light At Night Conference | Light Pollution | ScienceWe invite you to submit abstracts for oral presentations and posters. All abstracts will go through a peer review!
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@european the city of #Tübingen implemented and continues to do so motion-sensor based streetlights. They dim up to full brightness ahead of the moving person, so it's never fully dark and the light doesn't simply turn on/off.
There are more details in this blog article by @stadtwerketuebingen:
https://www.swtue.de/netze/strassenbeleuchtung/licht-nach-bedarf.html
www.swtue.deStraßenbeleuchtung mit Licht nach Bedarf
Threats to astronomical observatory sites around the world from light pollution are growing, but the existing skyglow standard for site protection dates to nearly a half-century ago. Astronomers are considering a new standard to replace it given advances in lighting technology.
Read more about what's at stake for astronomy and how this effort developed: http://www.darkskyconsulting.com/blog/toward-a-new-standard-for-astronomical-observatory-site-protection
Better yet: don’t light your garden at all. “Since artificial light in gardens disrupts natural behaviour for a range of wildlife, it’s important to retain some dark areas and also question whether you really need lighting, says the RHS.”
The Irish Times · This trend for lighting up gardens may seem an inviting one, but it needs to be done with care
New paper shows that moth numbers are reduced in areas with higher levels of #skyglow compared to areas with lower levels of skyglow, regardless of whether one is near streetlights or not: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2025.126068
The International Astronomical Union notes the need to update the 1980 joint CIE-IAU light pollution metric for astronomical observatory sites and "is currently considering drafting a resolution based on these recommendations to be submitted for approval at its next general assembly in 2027."
iau.orgInternational Astronomical Union | IAU
It's worse than previously thought. "INNA would increase light pollution above the Very Large Telescope (VLT) by at least 35% and by more than 50% above the south site of the Cherenkov Telescope Array Observatory."
www.eso.orgNew ESO analysis confirms severe damage from industrial complex planned near ParanalAn in-depth technical analysis by the European Southern Observatory (ESO) has evaluated the impact of the INNA megaproject on the facilities at the Paranal Observatory, Chile — and the results are alarming. The analysis reveals that INNA would increase light pollution above the Very Large Telescope (VLT) by at least 35% and by more than 50% above the south site of the Cherenkov Telescope Array Observatory (CTAO-South). INNA would also increase air turbulence in the area, further degrading conditions for astronomical observations, while vibrations from the project could seriously impair the functioning of some of the astronomical facilities, like the Extremely Large Telescope (ELT), at the Paranal Observatory.
"Nick Dunn, a professor of urban design in the United Kingdom, has talked about the idea of 'nocturnal commons' as a way to envision our shared responsibility to maintain night skies as a public good. Whether DarkSky certification will be an effective way of resisting the privatisation of the celestial realm is debatable, given the gulf in power between corporate and community interests.”
Newsroom · DarkSky designation can mitigate ‘privatisation of celestial sphere’
New conference paper by @salvabara argues that "setting total emission limits becomes necessary in order to ensure that the negative effects of light pollution do not surpass red-lines of unacceptable degradation of the natural night."
"This work didn’t identify exact causes for the declines, although scientists have been clear that habitat loss, pesticide use and the climate crisis are the main culprits for insect losses, with other problems such as light pollution affecting #fireflies and #moths in particular."
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/06/declining-butterfly-populations
The Guardian · Butterfly population in US shrinking by 22% over last 20 years, study shows
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Finally, in "Insect communities under skyglow: diffuse nighttime illuminance induces spatio-temporal shifts in movement and predation", Dyer et al. show that the movement of insects shifts from day to night when #LightPollution is present, and again it seems that the effect begins at skyglow-like light levels.
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The first is "Artificial light at night decreases plant diversity and performance in experimental grassland communities" by Bucher et al.: https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2022.0358
Here they showed that both growth and species diversity was negatively affected by the addition of #LightPollution, and that the impact starts at skyglow-like light levels.
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Incidentally, the same approach was used by German U-Boats during #WorldWar2, which prompted the US military to undertake what is likely the largest #LightPollution study ever conducted: https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/citations/ADA954894
apps.dtic.milDefense Technical Information Center
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Plants and animals are different [citation needed], but we've both evolved on the same Earth. So the physiology of animals is also affected by exposure to #LightPollution, and this extends to humans and #HumanHealth.
We have the problem that we spend most of the day indoors under artificial lights (much darker than natural day), and then spend the evening indoors under artificial lights (much brighter than natural night). Especially for night owls, this lack of a clear day/night signal screws up our internal #Circadian clocks. These clocks control things like metabolism, so messing with them causes #health problems: https://doi.org/10.1177/23727322231193967
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This is my favorite photo for demonstrating the impact of #LightPollution on physiology. The image was taken by shows a soybean field illuminated by a badly directed streetlight.
What's happening here is that soybeans are supposed to grow leaves in the early part of summer, and as nights get longer, they should make #soybeans and turn brown. In the green area, the plants don't understand what time of year it is, and it's therefore a complete loss for the farmer.
The reason I love the photo so much is because you can see the shadow of the light mast on the field.
The photo was taken by Dwaine Eddie McGriff & Ben Tankersley, and originally posted to Xitter (the post no longer exists).
The problem could be entirely solved by using a streetlight with strong backlight shielding (i.e. shining the light only on the roadway).
(4/17)
We know that when artificial light shines directly from a light source onto living things at night, it affects their behavior and physiology. But what about the diffuse glow of the night sky, does that affect the environment?
Turns out it does. Read more in this brief thread 
#Skyglow image by @andreas_jechow
