Light Pollution

When you hear the term "light pollution," what do you think of? Do you think of light bulbs, lamp posts, or even fireworks that are way too bright? In that case, you'd be correct. Light pollution is defined as the unwanted and excessive presence of unnatural light, also known as artificial lighting. Studies of light pollution began way back in the 19th century, yet efforts to reduce light pollution didn't begin until the 1950s. You can learn more about how to reduce light pollution here. Astronomy is one of the many things negatively impacted by light pollution, yet many people don't realize its importance. As one of the oldest branches of science, astronomy has been used to measure time, mark the seasons, and even as a means of exploration. Astronomy is relevant to this day. As light pollution increases, skyglow increases as well. Skyglow is defined as the illuminance of the night sky, not including natural light sources such as the stars and the Moon. Skyglow br...

Using nothing more than my cell phone and my bare two eyes, I collected my data between February 15, 2022, and March 15, 2022. For fifteen days, I surveyed three areas in Virginia Beach, spending five days in each area. These areas were the Virginia Beach Town Center, my own neighborhood, and Stumpy Lake. At around 7:00pm each night, I did the following routine: 1. Used SkyView to locate Orion in the sky. 2. Took a photograph of Orion. 3. Used LM-3000 to record the lux levels detected. 4. Used the Globe at Night  webpage to record my data.  Lux is a unit used to measure illuminance. I compared the visibility of the stars with the lux levels detected each night to see how light pollution affects astronomy in Virginia Beach.  The average nighttime illuminance level should be less than 1 lux. Only the Stumpy Lake area had this average, with an average of 0.3 lux across the five-day period. There was no skyglow at Stumpy Lake, and every star in Orion could be clearly s...

 So, now we know that l ight pollution is negatively impacting astronomy in Virginia Beach. With that being said, there are some steps that can be taken to combat light pollution. 1. Stop using unnecessary lighting during the daytime. Natural sunlight provides more than enough lighting in most cases and using artificial light sources when they are not needed contributes to light pollution.  2. Use amber lights. Many streets already use amber lights because they are not distracting to drivers on the road. Amber lights also reduce light pollution, so more streets should implement these types of lights. Along with this, blue-white lights should be used less frequently. 3. U se IDA approved light sources. The International Dark Sky Association, or IDA, is a non-profit organization that aims to raise awareness of the importance of dark skies. The IDA also evaluates light fixtures for their efficiency in reducing light pollution. Any light fixture approved by the IDA will have the F...