Twinkle twinkle little stars,
How I wonder WHERE you are…
Nearly everyone familiar with English, no matter where they live, has heard the “Twinkle Twinkle” poem as a child. However, children today, in most parts of the habitable world, struggle to imagine the sense of wonder the poem once evoked.
So, how did we lose this wonderment?
The answer lies in a type of pollution that hardly anyone speaks about – Light Pollution!
Picture yourself in your bedroom when you turn off the lights to sleep. At first, it’s hard to see, but after a few minutes, your eyes adjust to the darkness. Gradually, you start recognizing objects and can even navigate the room without bumping into anything.
Now imagine what will happen if someone suddenly turns ON the lights?
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This is what we’re experiencing globally. The overwhelming brightness of city lights blinds us, robbing us of the starlight that travels from “up above the world so high.”
Human-made lights have stolen the charm of the night sky, which was already disrupted by dust and atmospheric pollution. Along with this, they are also stripping away the sense of wonder that the sky and infinite space bring to our young earthlings.
Studies show that 80% of the world population now lives under the skyglow. We have engulfed our planet with a luminous fog that stops us from viewing and observing the cosmos. As is evident from the above map, urbanization has blocked our relationship with the sky.
Beyond blocking our view, light pollution also disrupts sleep and circadian rhythms, not only in humans but also in other living creatures. It even increases the risk of depression, diabetes, and obesity.
Dark sky reserves
Amateur Astronomer John Bortle had devised a dark sky scale to quantify night sky brightness. It measures the observability of the celestial objects from a particular location on a scale of 1 to 9. You may imagine Bortle 9 sky as somewhere near a mega city airport and Bortle 1 sky as a dark sky where your companions are almost invisible to you.
The places where humans can experience Bortle 1 or 2 or 3 skies have been shrinking rapidly. In response, DarkSky International was founded in 1988 to protect areas for stargazing. Currently, there are about 201 certified dark sky places worldwide. In September 2022, Hanle in Ladakh became India’s first dark sky preserve. This location, situated in a rain-shadow region with 200-250 clear nights per year, was selected for its high-quality skies.
Authorities have also designated Maharashtra’s Pench National Park as a Dark Sky Park. These sites offer breathtaking views of the night sky that are only possible in these protected areas. Dark Sky Preserves help us discover the beauty of the night sky.
What can be done?
Dark Skies thus help us preserve the wonders of our night sky. While it may be unrealistic to turn off our city lights, we can definitely work towards minimizing the impact of lights on our city skies. Use of shaded street lamps that throw light downwards, dimmers, motion sensors and timers should be encouraged. Limiting outdoor lighting beyond certain hours in the evening is also crucial.
More importantly, to ensure we stay in touch with the cosmos, take some time out with your loved ones, escape to a darker spot in your city and enjoy the night sky. Let’s keep the wonder of twinkling stars alive.
Clear skies.