Megan Eaves-Egenes grew up under the very starry skies of rural New Mexico. During those years, she developed a deep appreciation for astronomy.
The fascination is, of course, not hers alone. But, a starry sky requires one pretty important ingredient: darkness. One study recently reported that since 2011, the night sky has gotten brighter at about 10% per year.
All that light pollution has brought dire consequences to life on planet earth. Crickets can’t tell whether it’s day or night, bird migrations have gone haywire, and our own natural alarm clocks are constantly confused.
In a world where switching on a lamp during evening hours is, as Megan writes, “almost as basic as breathing” is there hope for our night skies? Or have we illuminated our way to a point of no return?
LINKS
You can order a copy of Megan’s book Nightfaring: In Search of the Disappearing Darkness on her website.
Want to plan travel around dark sky locations? Dark Sky International offers a variety of guides and tips on how to visit darky sky locations responsibly.
There are many popular stargazing apps. Megan uses SkyView, but also recommends Stellarium or SkySafari.
Learn more about satellite’s role in light pollution from our 2024 episode, “The new space race.”
Made nearly 10 years ago, here is our episode about light pollution emitted from a New Hampshire greenhouse.
Produced by Marina Henke. For a transcript and full list of credits, go to outsideinradio.org.
