Light Pollution is Ruining our Night Sky

[@AstroBackyard]

GET INVOLVED - IDA Dark Sky Week: idsw.darksky.org/

[@RohitchaharXD]

First

[@stevefpv7249]

Well Trevor! I have just retired and have been severely bitten by the astrophotography bug. Pulled out my old 10" dob a couple of years ago because of you:) Recently started purchasing my gear for this endeavor and at the same time looking to move to a bortle 3 area with bortle 1-2 a stones throw away. Agree wholeheartedly with you on this light pollution. Time to step up! Cheers

[@3VAudioVideo]

I think we all need to create videos and blogs and whatever possible and as often as possible in order to get mass attention of the common ordinary non-astronomer population so that they get educated. Otherwise the light pollution will only get worse. I believe it is Tucson (if not, another city in AZ) were the city actually does support the reduction of light pollution. It amazes me when I see lights IN the sidewalks of LA facing up and directed up and into the face of pedestrians. You walk over them then you are blinded so badly that you see the veins in your eyes!

[@mikyles.1830]

When are we gonna get merch! :)

[@luboinchina3013]

@@3VAudioVideo Not just that. LED advertisement screens is a huge problem where I live.

[@bostronomy]

I think the most frustrating part is seeing how much perspective everyone has lost because they can’t just look up and get a true sense of their place in the universe. It’s like living next to the ocean, but you can only see the sand.

[@charyhoo9345]

Couldn't have put that better, well said 👍

[@cristianmoore1996]

I had friends who didn’t see more than a few stars in the sky until they were in their 20s because they stayed in the city they’re whole life. When they saw how many there were in the country sky they literally asked “Are those stars?” Funny, but sad.

[@superkiller6652]

The light pollution is really annoying, especially in New York City

[@IliasVanHende]

Also in Belgium 😢

[@detectiveamevirus8]

In capital city mostly light Pollutions.

[@epic_playz4283]

@@detectiveamevirus8 like nashville tn, but I dont live in the city

[@aryarathod9192]

I live in a town and have a bad sky because of air pollution by a sugar factory and light pollution

[@brianorozco1074]

Imagine Tokyo, Japan

[@nialldonovan7569]

Light pollution is getting worse here in Manchester as a child it was a class 5 now it’s a class 8 nearly 9

[@tomgvaughan]

Ayy Manchester, it is bad here in Preston as well.

[@LShaver947]

My city is bortle 7-8 but I am lucky enough to have a backyard that makes it bortle 4-5

[@tykingcrystal864]

Haha I’ve always been in 8-9 and will probably never see at least 5 :(

[@wesleydonnelly2141]

I'm in Liverpool and have same issue. The Bortle where i live is 9+!! I still manage some amazing views with 'scopes though! There's still things to see so never lose hope bro! Wes.

[@tykingcrystal864]

I’m a beginner, so I use a Celestron 114mm reflector, and I actually managed to capture Bode’s galaxy pretty easily (although viewing the spiral arms would be difficult)

[@AstroForumSpace]

Powerful message Trevor. We totally wasted our night sky in the Netherlands in favor of greenhouses that emit light throughout the night. Immediately joined after seeing your video, clear and light pollution FREE skies man.

[@douweodh4146]

Luckily those greenhouses are in light polluted areas anyways, I guess you meant Het Westland and Aalsmeer? At least they serve a good purpose. I am more annoyed by all the unnecessary street lights burning all night long while no one is on the streets.

[@dekemp1986]

Hi Wido, green houses are truly a big problem. I have looked in to regulations on light emission for those in The Netherlands. It turns out that when a green house emits more than 15.000 lux, it has to be shielded. For comparison, standard lighting levels in An office work place are 500 lux. at a Sunny Day with a blue sky in the shade it is at 20.000 lux. So this regulations is An absolute abomination. When you look further into it, these norms (NEN) were made in cooperation with the lighting industry, so clearly the wrong stakeholders were at the table. Green house impact a very big region around Them, so we best influence politics to make light pollution and sensible regulations a part of the climate adaptation and Air pollution debate

[@afrikees]

@@douweodh4146 Hi Douwe, The greenhouses also have appeared in the Wieringermeer. There they mostly use shading but nonetheless have a serious impact on the nightsky. Meanwhile 2 large datacenters form Microsoft and Google have been set up in the area. The amount of light they shed is rediculous. They realy brighten up the surroundings. You can read a paper more than 500m away, solely by the lighting around their compounds. Making matters worse, the lighting used is broad spectrum LED so lightpolution filters are of no use.

[@douweodh4146]

@@afrikeesThat sounds bad. Do you happen to know if we have regulations against light pollution here in the Netherlands?

[@afrikees]

@@douweodh4146 We do have some regulations, but it's all about a "zorgplicht" for the entrepreneurs. Many communities also put effort in reducing energy costs, but with the arrival of LED, saving energy is no longer synonimus with less light polution. As often the new LED lamp produces more lumen for less energy than the traditional lighting it replaces.

[@meghjoshi7031]

The relevance of this video is on point. I think if we don't take these steps here, then the future generations will be devoid of the best part of their life. Great video and initiative Trevor👍

[@paradise2431]

yeah like when i first saw the milky way i still have that feeling man no cap

[@garvitgoyal5236]

I am a science student in india and have interest in astronomy but due to light pollution in my city I never saw mire than a few stars in night sky. I am really worried about light pollution and the fact that people are not aware of this makes the situation more worse.

[@izanagisburden9465]

Same here in kolkata rarely do I get the chance to stargaze

[@akshatchobdar3038]

Same in delhi

[@garvitgoyal5236]

@@akshatchobdar3038 the sadest thing is that our country has no night sky conservation zones.

[@akshatchobdar3038]

@@garvitgoyal5236 yeah i guess so

[@izanagisburden9465]

Stargazing community is super small too... There are rarely any events held here

[@minecrazygames3127]

They should have a international turn off your lights day. so that you can see all of the stars. Who else agrees

[@fang8660]

100%. And change the day if its not a clear night!

[@Kai_serWilhelm]

I agree

[@RandomGamer-]

i disagree They should have a international turn ON your lights day only :)

[@EkamFatwal]

@@RandomGamer- 100%

[@KingLoopie1]

100% agree!

[@CDRaff]

I'm living in New Mexico again after being in Vegas and LA for about 10 years and wowza the difference is amazing. Not only are there several Dark Sky Sanctuaries, but there have been several governmental pushes to keep the skies as dark as possible.

[@epic_playz4283]

Dessert is the best for astrophotography

[@lordstimpleton8896]

Every new video makes me more excited to get my gear. Definitely jumping on the IDA train so I, and anyone else, can enjoy the night!

[@vdiitd]

I'm from a country where either most people are not even aware of what light pollution is or they don't care at all about it. It just makes me sad to see the stars in the night sky slowly fading away in dust and haze.

[@Josh.Wilson]

Thanks for including one of my images! I appreciate it. What I appreciate more though, is the message in the video. It might not be possible to make a difference immediately, but this is to make a difference in the long run. I always refer people to the TedTalk that Alyn Wallace did, this will be added to what I refer people to when I talk to people about it.

[@stupattinson1031]

I totally agree and I'm committed to help and spread the word. I've shared your video and trying to spread the message here in Edinburgh Scotland

[@anthonyrobida]

I live in Sydney Australia about 30km from the city, I can see the stars and with binoculars much more. However have a new neighbour who installed 2 led floodlights in his backyard which he lives on all night. Other neighbours installed wall mounted lights on their houses. I think they are scared of the night. Council has installed led street lights which had made it worse. Game over.

[@kathleenryan8545]

I couldn't agree more Trevor!! My neighbour across the street has the brightest front light that he leaves on all night. It is so unnecessary, and frustrating.

[@sustainablelife3603]

Thank you for making this video because light pollution is so overlooked that other people don't even know it exist and ruining the night sky

[@sustainablelife3603]

And some people don't know light pollution exist so they think I'm just making it up but I really wasn't. I want to be able to see the milky way and the stars

[@martiny1804]

When I moved into my house 3 years ago just west of Milton it was dark (no street lights). Now a warehouse/storage place 200 meters away installed 8 x 150 watt LED floods (frackin Great) and are on all night. I'm just going to take some pic's tonight and report to the town and see what they will do. There are only 6 houses on street and you can walk around without needing a flashlight as these are so bright. And Trever there are a few in Ontario to go to. Torrance Barrens Dark-Sky Preserve for one. Ontario is home to six of Canada’s 19 designated dark sky preserves (there are only 36 in the world)! Another great video Trevor.

[@kushchandaria1115]

In my garden it’s gotten to a point where I have to dumb half of my ha data because of street lamps causing major gradients. Such a shame.

[@epic_playz4283]

At my moms there's one in front of us and don't wanna accidentally look at it ass I was trying to look at saturn

[@astronomynotebook]

A much needed presentation....thank you.

[@KK-ygh]

Thanks for your work sir. You are a great inspiration. I will introduce my son your channel.

[@stevenrobinsonpictures]

It's crazy Trevor. Where I live every 3rd house has these bloody soffit downlighers installed which illuminate the brickwork on their homes (which I might add my builder has said are bad for the lofts as they increase heat and condensation). At least the streetlights are more modest than they used to be, but it is getting so hard to gaze up without all the glare, let alone photograph it. Have we forgotten how good the dark can be? Everyone seems so obsessed by these damn security lights but I am convinced they are for vainty reasons, "keeping up with the jones'" type stuff. Literally some here are lit up like the Home Alone house from the movie...they are ruining my attempts to photograph the night sky from my back yard.

[@deanfordcreative]

I remember as a kid living on an acreage in the 70s and I could clearly see the Milky Way while walking home from friends. Very little light pollution. I could regularly see the Aurora’s at night. Satellites would catch my attention from all directions.

[@Markaras]

Where do I go to see it man

[@hmuphilly9129]

Who knows anymore even some rural areas are now being invaded by light pollution@@Markaras

[@AstroPhotos]

I went to a Bortle 3 location a couple of years ago on holiday and I was amazed as the night drew in and I could see the stars. I mean, I was in a hot tub at the time (which helped!), but this was just after I got my Star Adventurer and just before I started astrophotography - and being that I had never seen the night sky in anything other than Bortle 5 at best I was absolutely blown away and in awe. The amount of stars you can see at Bortle 3 is just stunning compared to Bortle 6+. I could only imagine what Bortle 2 and 1 look like. The thing that strikes me the most is how sort of velvety black the sky is and just the sheer amount of stars you can see - a sea of stars compared to a suburban sky. With the advancements in technology and evolution of it we should surely be able to do more to reduce light pollution and it's affects and see the wonders of the night sky as they were intended to be seen.

[@reubenmatthews5615]

I also went to a Bortle 3 location. It was incredible how bright all of the stars were, they were like planets! I'm going to check out a Bortle 1.5 location soon, which will be incredible!

[@IchigoKurosakicool]

I am lucky enough to visit Bortle class 2 area every summer when I visit my hometown, and what's better is that the hometown is bortle 1 at night time since they dont use any source of light after 12 am till 5 am. Makes me wonder how I am so used to this Scale 9 area where I live Now.

[@blythewarland6688]

funny you posted this, I have been living in a city for the first time in decades for about 6 months, I hate it. Rural Australia is about as artificial light free as anywhere in the world and I'm missing it.

[@bioliv1]

Lucky you! In Norway the countryside is just as bad as the towns, and now we get all these new wind power plants emitting extreme light pollution, blinking with a frauenes of 40-60 times per second, which affekt areas hundreds of kilometres away.

[@blythewarland6688]

@@bioliv1 I was there last February spent a month there and yes there is definitely plenty of light pollution, you live in a truely beautiful part of the world

[@mikem9246]

As an IDA member and astrophotographer, thanks for putting this up. Cherry Springs is my home away from home, and even a place as remote as that is being threatened by light pollution creeping on the horizon. Cherry Springs Star Party will return in 2022, hopefully we can help get the word out.

[@andrewsingleton4428]

I don't normally comment but this is a very timely video. I have a few houses that my garden backs onto and up until recently its been fine (apart from Christmas). This year 1 garden neighbour installed fairy lights all the way around the garden and another has this horrible multicoloured roof light pushing unnecessary light into the sky. Just last night a third has lit up their garden and its really really annoying. I'm at the point of wondering if I should pack this in. Fortunately the fairy light neighbours are reasonable and have said they would turn it off if I asked. I'll have to get around to asking the others. The worrying thing is that this is seemingly fashionable. This video has helped me actually and it is heartening that you are facing the same problem even if I'd rather you didn't have to. I will join up the dark sky thing. Im not sure its a thing in the UK but will find the equivalent if needs be. I'm also flocking my newtonian and painting the metals in matt black non reflective paint so that should help cut out the immediate problem. I shall not give up! At least not yet...

[@derp4428]

THANK YOU so much for this! I live in the outer edge of a medium sized city, and I can barely see anything in the night sky at my home address. We have projector-like streetlights 'so people feel safe' and they point almost horisontal so they can light up a big area with fewer lamp posts, spilling huge amounts of lights that never reach the pavement .... I have an 8" telescope and I can definitely study the planets and the moon, but I have to drive away to see or photograph anything else in the night sky. I've never seen the milkyway in its full glory and I am always stunned by the beauty of it in pictures and videos made in darker locations. I really hope we can make people aware of this problem, it might even save energy and help the environment too to get better directional outdoor lighting - downwards where it lights up so people can see, instead of straight into the sky and in through people's windows so they have to block it out, further removing us from nature and the night sky :'(

[@captgbakos1291]

Nice work Trevor. It saddened me to hear that when there were blackouts a few years ago in LA there were inner city kids that became scared of those lights in the sky that we know as stars. I also learned that light pollution can affect the migration of bird species that migrate at night and use the stars to navigate. I'm fortunate to live in a CL4 in new England and will be retiring on land we own in a CL3, but still envy my ancestors in ancient Greece whose imaginations were treated to night skies that we only dream about.

[@alexwilkinson9010]

I live in bortle 4 with bortle 3 being about 20 minutes away. Genuinely so grateful for being in this position as I lived in a bortle 7 area for most of my childhood. Never been somewhere less than bortle 3, closest bortle 1 is the Scottish Highlands where I plan on making a trip up there when I learn to drive.

[@Nitroburner01]

When I was a teenager in the 80's my father used to tell me how he looked up and saw the milky way in Indonesia, where he lived until he was 15. Fast forward to 2024, living in Europe, going on holiday in the whole of europe and Indonesia, I still haven't seen the milky way in any recognizable form.

[@francescot3684]

Thanks Trevor for bringing up this! The light pollution definitely got worse with LED-lights. I live in a city suburb (class 6-7) and the near city is glowing to the west as a never ending sunset. Since 2-3 years (at least here in Sweden) there’s a trend to have strong lamps in the backyard pointing up to the sky to illuminate trees in the garden, I’m surrounded by them and light pollution got really bad.

[@GarnettLeary]

Glad you shared this. It’s a great contribution considering how large your audience is. Some countries have introduced light intrusion laws. Not enough politicians are scientists so it’s hard to make the topic seem important to them.

[@ashpowell9451]

Thanks for making raising this Trevor. I plan to make a submission to my local council around this, unsure if it will change anything but its worth a try. Im Bortle 4 and feel extremely lucky but as you say, its only going to get worse if things dont change.

[@superdurppig8686]

Thank you for doing a video on this topic Trevor. I'm extremely lucky to live in an area with little light pollution, but it's not hard to see more and more dark skies disappearing.

[@TheCudder4life]

I'm in a zone 6 and I don't like my skies. Can't imagine 8 or 9.

[@robl6933]

Great video. A few years ago a friend let my family borrow his cabin at the lake. We sat on the deck at night with no light pollution and I had never seen so many stars, and never seen the sky so black. I just got my first pair of binoculars last year and I wish I would have had them then. Have to make a return trip.

[@honestozzy244]

A big thumbs up for "highlighting" (pun intended) this critical issue for helping to preserve our views of the universe. As a stargazer for nearly 70 years, I can still remember a brilliant Milky Way in 1957 while looking for Sputnik I from our backyard... in Southern California!

[@aggieami13]

Thanks for the pressing the awareness button! I hope it reaches everyone!

[@bevin26]

1:07 I live there. And I can tell you that the night sky is usually much more washed out than that. You could see the Orion Nebula at 1:10, but I personally have never even seen it with my naked eye.

[@philipmichel270]

thank you Trevor. This is an incredibly important topic to cover. There is no question, we need to deal with this issue

[@Junihility]

We have to fight against light pollution

[@lizards821]

Big ups Trevor. Hand on heart, this is my favorite video of yours. I love how much you are spreading awareness of the overuse and misuse of artificial light at night, and encouraging how we as individuals can make an impact. Mitigating light pollution helps on so many levels, from health concerns to climate change. Let’s. Do. This.

[@johnadastra1754]

From suburbia (same Bortle as you), I can get galaxies when they get higher into the sky, and also narrow band. But light pollution really wrecks the ability to get any good details on dusty nebula. The skyglow just overwhelms the fine details :(.

[@spacemonkey986]

Love your bringing this up, In the UK and European there has been a push back from Light Pollution, I just cant see NA doing anything about it as they cant even see the benefits from reducing industrial pollution and sustainability, lets hope!

[@triangulumpubg6295]

Woah. I feel really blessed to live in a B4 area. Also, my country just got its first dark sky park, bortle 1 in the Zlatibor mountain range, Serbia.

[@GB-ek2em]

I think it's Bortle 2.

[@AstroDenny]

you've done some great videos, but this is absolutely one of the best.

[@DavesAstrophotography]

Good strong message Trevor, well done. 👏

[@Lacquerhead-TX]

I live in a Bortle 8/9 area near Dallas, TX. I know *all* about LP. We have a IDA Dark Sky site about 4 hours from home. There's a group of us that are working on collecting data to get a second site registered.

[@BommeltjeNL]

Just this week I asked the question on a forum what happened with the night skies. I had telescopes in my younger years (14-25) and I stopped when I was 25, because of light polution (1983) and I recently bought a smart telescope and been outside many times since, but each time I wondered why there were so few stars visible with the naked eye. I live in the Netherlands by the way and i'm 40 years older now, so it could be my eyes, but the reactions I got on my question, they all told me it's definately more light polution. I remember pitch dark nights with thousands of stars visible. Now I only see max 50, on a good night? Certainly not more. Wow, this is sad, extremely sad.

[@cyrusparrsi2583]

As a child I used to look up and see the milky way and plenty of stars every night. I was 10 or 12 years old when we took a trip way back into the mountains, I was amazed with what I saw that night, the sky was literally covered with bright stars. That was over 50 years ago back in Iran, it was a sight that I never forget and perhaps never see again.

[@AstroMountainGuy]

Thank you very much astrobackyard, to tell me more about the dark sky. In my city or state, there is no dark sky association, I hope IDA helps me to create one. It only me from here to do that, thank you again,... clear skies!

[@Kevin.kistermann]

If you look across western europe it is so bright, also when you drive 30 km out of the cities you see some glow on the horizone in every direction.

[@gregwing6409]

Very good overview. Thanks for using your platform to spread the word. I’ve been aware of light pollution since I was a teen in the 1970’s with the nearby small city’s light dome where I grew up. I think Sky & Telescope was even talking about it back then. HAA! Nothing compared to where I live now north of Albany, NY. Our Albany Area Amateur Astronomers club does have a dark site, class 4, at Landis Arboretum in Esperance, NY. Looking forward to some clear nights thee hopefully soon.

[@petecarpenter1068]

I have to consider myself very fortunate that 50 kms outside Christchurch New Zealand I have a class 2 sky to wonder at. My new star tracker is working overtime. Thanks for your inspiration Trevor. 🙏🏻🇳🇿

[@mikem9246]

And about 90% of astrophotgraphers are in the northern hemisphere, so you get to see things we never do. :)

[@piotrmaslanka7334]

I live in Scotland, which is a great area for astrophotography with little light pollution; managed to click shots a few times of the night sky, but a few miles to the south is an oil factory (Grangemouth) which is starting to light up the sky more and more, some days more and some days less.

[@Rogn1]

Thankfully, I live next door to a IDA Park. We have great star viewing in our area.

[@wesleydonnelly2141]

Another major issue for me is the cloud cover here in England! It's cloudy practically every single night for months on end sometimes!?? Light pollution is by far the biggest issue though because at least eventually the clouds go away and we get a good week or two of mostly crystal clear night skies!, whereas the light pollution never goes away!!?? Wes, Liverpool, UK.

[@Adam-vu6ho]

Great video man. My neighbour leaves her bathroom light on all night long and it really spoils my viewing experience in my back garden 😕

[@cult4037]

I love looking up at the stars but as the years have passed, light pollution has become a serious problem and it really disappoints me that if action isnt taken, we and the next generation could loose out on witnessing the beauty of the night sky. Imagine having a sky that acts as a canvas and can show us the rest of the milky way here on earth but we are slowly loosing it. It saddens me that we may never be able to see it again

[@Sportydan11]

Living in Vegas is definitely hard to get away from the night sky. I mean you can see the light from Death Valley National Park...which is 2 and a half hours away!

[@darcius73]

I feel pretty lucky, my town is around a bortle 4 and I’m just an hour away from bortle 2-3 skies. I hope that we can start getting back some of our dark skies. Clear skies to everyone.

[@agatone7244]

This is a huge problem. In my area we got class 9 light pollution, so the night sky is pretty much nonexistent with the exception of a few brighter stars. I’ve always thought that there only was a small amount of light pollution here, but now as I’m older and have been wanting to start with astrophotography I’ve been turned off by the hefty amount of light pollution. Though for a couple of weeks every year I go to a place with class 3 or 4, a lot better, but the thing is that’s in the middle of summer, and because of how far north it is the sun is only down for about an hour or so. I really want to start with astrophotography but to get a decent night sky I would have to move across the country to find better conditions. And oh yeah, there isn’t a single one of those parks you were talking about in my country either, closest is in Austria, so that’s a bummer

[@JacobWithACamera]

I just started getting into star gazing and taking pictures of the night sky with my Nikon, and I live in a metropolitan area and it’s so depressing knowing that there’s nowhere nearby for almost 100 miles that is unaffected by light pollution.

[@AstroQuest1]

Well done Trevor! Could not think of more relevant topic! - Cheers

[@GrandmasterBBC]

My back yard on the edge of Boise, Idaho is a bortle class 5 area, with the darker skys to the east & south. I know I'm in much better shape then the majority of people in much more heavily light polluted areas. Fortunately, in 1 hour I can be in Bruneau Dunes State Park which is a bortle class 2 area. Wonderfully dark there, but not something I can't logistically do as much as I would like. Thank you for sharing the awareness.

[@Teeb2023]

Light AND air pollution has ruined the night sky since I first got into astronomy in the 70s. Problem is, I can't see it changing any time soon, at least not in any meaningful way. Way too much money involved in keeping things as they are, and have been for decades, and the general public either don't really care, or in the case of younger folk, simply don't know any better due to it being this way their entire lives. There have been a few initiatives kicked off by some governments, but most of it has been short term, and little more than lip service, or to placate voters. They never last. The proliferation of nighttime security lights, along with decorative lawn lights etc, is also reaching ridiculous levels.

[@GB-ek2em]

I live in Quebec and I agree 100% with your message. The mentality here is abominable: house lights (real spotlights of several thousand watts) are proliferating and multiplying. I think that the level of lighting in houses is inversely proportional to the intelligence of people.

[@RohitchaharXD]

Yes sir !! Best video !! My lifestyles remembering video !!

[@dennislehtonen6915]

I recently moved to a very small town in north Finland above the arctic circle. I live in the center of the "city" and the street lights are turned off at 11pm, so I have quite dark skies on my backyard. Lightpollutionmap shows bortle 4 with bortle 1-2 being 15 minute drive away. However, there is one problem with this place and thats the northern lights. Theyre so common here you have almost no dark, clear skies without any auroras in a year. You cant really photograph a galaxy through them.

[@GB-ek2em]

We cannot have our cake and eat it too... you should feel very lucky to have the possibility to admire very beautiful northern lights in a very good sky.

[@martinpalenik]

Thanks for bringing this into attention. It's definitely an uphill battle. Each year I see the means of my images get higher. I hate to be a pessimist but I just can't see this getting better ever. Dark site trips will be necessary. On one side we should be grateful some of us can travel to dark sites near us in Canada at least.

[@ericemanuelson5128]

I know this topic first hand as the city I live in just installed the brightest street lights I have ever seen of course right by my house too that really impacted me and my views. I use to have Bortle 5 now who knows but much much worse.

[@destroyerwill6122]

I live in a bortle 6 but the Milky Way is in the direction of the inner city which is 8-9. I got my first picture of it here over a week ago. I'm hoping that as leaves grow on the trees it'll help reduce light pollution here and I can get some better shots. And also try stacking them.

[@Dino.001]

Years ago I could see tons and tons of stars but now when I look outside I can’t see any...

[@OlliesSpace]

Certainly lots of good points here and so important the way it's affecting so many animals and the cycles that they're used to. So many negative broad impacts. Nice one Trevor.👍

[@hunterawesome5105]

From where I am in Ontario, our night sky is still pretty dark (~class 4), and about a 5 minute drive gets you about class 2. While my area is doing well, I appreciate you getting this info out there, as a lot of people don't truly understand the impact it's causing.

[@shadowboy813]

Cherry Springs State Park is also the only dark sky park I've been to as well. It's only a 2 and a half hour drive from me. I've never been there during a new moon though.

[@LaibaStarXX]

Can we please just sign a petition for there to be a world universe day. I mean come on if we have a world Earth day why CAN’T we have a day where all the lights go out so that we could observe the tremendous beauty of the universe! We are part of a big family and we should respect that!🙌🏻🌌✨

[@meghjoshi7031]

I totally agree with this. This is a wonderful idea

[@kashishmathukiya8091]

there already is a very similar initiative called the Earth Hour. But there would be huge negative impacts on the circuit systems (and the climate) even if a small city would turn off all the lights. Google it up. Instead we could do what Trevor says; Just minimize the unwanted lights instead of completely shutting them off for one day.

[@w3irdo343]

@@kashishmathukiya8091 ya it was on 27 this year

[@luboinchina3013]

It could be called a Milky Way day and would be on a day of a major meteor shower. Perseids would be awesome. Make a city stargazing party. But it may be Moon and weather depended

[@LaibaStarXX]

@@garunixreborn2416 it deeply saddens me that most of the people nowadays live in big cities where it’s hard to really see anything. Imagine if one day we came up with the idea of anti light pollution lights. And see how enormous of a change it’ll bring! Most of the cities have the most boring night skies where you can’t see a single thing, there’s nothing there to gaze at!

[@pinakibhattacharyya8936]

So true!! Glad that you came up with the video!

[@ZoliroAstro]

Thanks for the reminder Trevor, not about light pollution, I deal with that everytime I image. But you reminded me about the IDA. I was a member, but I let my membership slip last year and I need to renew. I wish there was a way we could get Google on board with the IDA. I live close to an industrial park that includes a Google facility, and that's where the majority of my local light pollution comes from. Can you imagine what a huge influence Google could be for the IDA if they would join the cause?

[@lukomatico]

Interesting Trevor, it's definitely a real problem and as you say in your video, it has further reaching implications than just making it hard to take pretty pictures! - thanks for making this

[@surfrac1]

I can't applaud you enough for making this short and accurate video. Thank you Trevor! I immediately shared to social media. With enough public knowledge and support we can reclaim nature.

[@DrewJEvans44]

This is so well done, Trevor. Honestly one of your best informative videos. I can only wish more people would realize what they could see in less light polluted skies.

[@alexk.8081]

And its getting even worse for us with Elon Musks Starlink. You can see these satellites already and there are hundrets and thousands more to come. Good video!

[@GB-ek2em]

I hate this guy because of that.

[@combatwombat71]

He knows precisely what he's doing. Getting them up there whilst there is no international co-ordinated regulation in place. Space is the new rich kid's playground, it seems.

[@charyhoo9345]

As someone who likes to look up at night with a pair of binoculars I like to spot the very occasional satellite traversing the night sky but it's true that having hundreds or thousands of then shooting bye would just become a constant irritation, especially for those taking exposures of the night sky.

[@Raptor2]

I think people don't fully understand this. When the satellites are initially launched, they are slowly spreading out in a long line. This is how they look in the videos that you see.They then spread out, raise their orbits, and reorient their solar panels, making them practically invisible to the naked eye. Also, these aren't just "Elon Musk's satellites", they are SpaceX's, and they have shown that they are very much working on ensuring that these will not make a big impact on the night sky.

[@AlexJames-mj1bz]

There is a streetlight that shines half into my backyard (which isn't close to it to begin with) and half on the sidewalk/road. I asked my city to limit the light coming into my backyard, perhaps by a lamp shield or something. I was just told it's not possible because it poses a security risk since it would reduce light going on the sidewalk. That's as much of an impact I can make in my own community and it is dissapointing. A lot of light pollution is also being created by rapid expansion of cities who don't consider infill/higher density housing options and just expand outwards into darker areas. Hard to see a solution here other than working to preserve sites that are already dark.

[@gerryboyd178]

They have upgraded lighting in our street to reduce excess street light effects but Edinburgh is still really poor for any kind of astrophotography (8/9 class)

[@generalldestructionsatanic8973]

Its awesome looking up at the sky and seeing the milky way spead. I'm in Bortle 3, with South Australia's dark sky reserve about 70km away, which is much the same bortle as home. Theres areas about 30km from home that dont have no glow on the bortle scale map, just have to get mobile. I do have a large winery about 2km away, but i see over Easter they had alot more lights off and the glow was heaps less. Australias got some really sweet spots on the bortle scale👍

[@bandito7362]

I live in France, the light pollution is an absolute disaster... Thanks Trevor for your video !

[@mglikeabossplaysMC]

Thank you for making this video! I remember the first time I saw a low bortle class sky when I was younger visiting my grandparents in the countryside of Japan, it was the whole reason I got into astronomy/astrophotography! It makes me sad that most kids living in my city might have been very interested in the universe if they had a better entry point...

[@ayjanu]

I can relate to your story, as I too used to see a lot more stars when I would visit my grandparents, on the outskirts of a small town. That area isn't much worse for comparison now, but time and distance have severed me from it. However, a recent move has once again put me in an area with fairly dark skies (with even darker ones close by), so this gives me some hope at least.

[@piotrjakuc6357]

Great video talking about a really important subject in astrophotography. That being said, DUDE! You got sponsored!!! Time to celebrate!

[@donkinghan1]

Street lights are one element, the LED lights are now very low wattage compared to the traditional sodium lighting and have good upward light control. There could be one 20W street light for every 4 houses for example but if those houses have installed a 500W security light with no upward light control in their back yard then the street lighting impact is very negligible. For cities and town centres it will be shop frontages, LED billboards, display signs and high rise buildings with lights left on overnight etc....you have to have some light on the roads so you get down to your astroshop safely 😉

[@aviewfarfaraway8560]

Great video! I think when I get a chance I’ll do a FB post to my friends/family on this with comparison shots so they can see the difference. It’s a topic not many give thought to, unless you’re into astronomy and astrophotography. Many might consider it from an electrical conservation standpoint and CO2 emissions, this gives another perspective and educating people is the first step.

[@Theastrocody]

Great video Trevor. Not many people realize whats up in the sky, when all they see is white haze.

[@PafMedic]

Great Video Trevor,Im In A Bortle 3-4-5,We Live About 3 Hours From Cherry Springs,Been Up a Few Times,We Just Bought a Pop Up Camper,and Hoping To Do a Lot More This Year,Love All Your Videos,Stay Safe,God Bless,and Clear Skies❤️🙏🏼🌏🔭✨

[@danielesilvaggi]

I do not have any outdoor lights on around my house. One reason electricity costs sooo much. I don't know why people want to throw away their money. I live in Windsor Ontario and you can see the greenhouse lights in Leamington from here that is how bad it is. This is a great video. Thank you.

[@stxe34]

please do a vid of how to shoot narrow band and how you work out exposure time. this would be a great and is the most complicated thing i find! great vid

[@gazza9839]

Google Dr Robin Glover, he has a talk on this subject ... Pretty deep though.

[@cgastrophotography]

The video was very well done Trevor and thanks for including my picture from bortle 2 :) Light pollution is a really important topic

[@PatJones82]

Didn't know about Cherry Springs, as I'm a newbie! It's 3 hours from my house. Got SO EXCITED to see it was coming up in October and then SO BUMMED to see if it "full" for this year. I'll try again next year I guess. :( But good video. Thank you!

[@brianthibault5929]

You ought to make a trip down to Windsor-Essex and Chatham-Kent and check out the light pollution from the greenhouses in Leamington and Kingsville.

[@ThoMaster]

I am really lucky to live in Norway and we have a cabin with class 3 light pollution .. its so beautiful watching the night sky. I am also looking forward to go camping far away from any light sources and experience class 1 or 2 :)