Why stars are becoming an ever rarer sight in the night sky
by Kylie Tempest
Years ago people would spend evenings gazing at the stars and admiring the beauty of a sky full of different constellations. Over the last decade or so, this has become less possible for people as the night sky for people in the UK is far brighter than it has ever been before. Constantly increasing levels of light pollution mean that in built up areas people are only able to see a few or in some cases no stars at all now.
Every year the Campaign to Protect Rural England carries out an analysis to keep track of how many stars can be seen by people living in certain areas across England. The last star count showed that of the people taking part, 53 per cent could see either ten stars or less than that and a mere two per cent of participants could see 31 stars or more. The annual star count has also demonstrated that the problem is continuing to get worse year after year.
Because stars are such a long distance away they already appear far more dimly to the eye than they actually are. The pollution created by high levels of artificial lighting significantly detracts from the existing brightness of stars by reducing the contrast between the light they give off and the darkness of the night sky. This unfortunately makes some less bright stars completely invisible to the naked eye while making others far more difficult to see.
The increase in light pollution hasn't been noticed by everyone but this is largely dependent on where people live. Those who live in built up areas with a lot of buildings will have significantly poorer visibility of stars than those who live in the countryside. From a good vantage point in the countryside, the glow created by artificial light can clearly be seen above cities and other built up areas. The number of stars which can be seen is also very different between these two types of area.
To reduce the amount of light pollution and the adverse effect it is having on the night sky, authorities have started to take action. Turning off street lamps and changing to different types of street lamps is one method which has already been employed in some areas but a lot more is needed to make a telling impact.
Minimise the light pollution generated by your home by using <a href='http://www.whiterabbitengland.com/prod_list.asp?catid=40&Name=Nightlights'>night lights</a>.
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New Unique Article!
Title: Why stars are becoming an ever rarer sight in the night sky
Author: Kylie Tempest
Email: uawdir@hotmail.co.uk
Keywords: light pollution, environment, space, stargazing
Word Count: 386
Category: Hobbies
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