NOCTALGIA ON THE SKY

THE FADING STARLIGHT

You hear about a chance to look to the night skies and see a meteor shower, northern lights, or even a comet, or you simply want to show your kids the constellations. You’re stuck wondering where you can go to find a sky dark enough.

You are experiencing “noctalgia.”

Light pollution has become such a thing that scientists coined this new word. It means “sky grief,” stemming from solastalgia, “the lived experience of negatively perceived environmental change.”

This past summer, astronomers Aparna Venkatesan, at the University of San Francisco and John C. Barentine, Dark Sky Consulting, commented on this phenomenon in the journal, Science, proposing their new word, explaining why it’s a problem and what we may be able to do about it.

Lighting up our earthly world is, of course, why we can’t readily stargaze. But there’s another reason. We’ve created a blanket of light in space. Almost all of the satellites in low earth orbit are solar-powered, their reflective panels bouncing the sun’s light right into our eyes. There are upwards of 8,000 of them and counting.

A 2021 NPR report states that light pollution affects 99% of people in Europe and the U.S. In North America, 80% cannot look up and see the Milky Way from where they live. We could travel to remote parts of the world, places with no lights on the ground, and find the sky is about 10% brighter than it was 50 years ago.

Does it matter?

Yes, because gazing up and imagining, telling stories around the constellations, and using the stars to navigate is a rich part of every culture. The sky is the one thing we all share. Survival amidst climate change means a very different future. Meeting the challenges of moving forward in dramatic ways requires maintaining connections to the past. We won’t mentally survive if we have to leave it all behind.

Yes, because of the world’s 28 major observatories, only seven can now effectively scan the night sky.

Yes, because animals are feeling noctalgia with circadian rhythms thrown off by reduced contrast between night and day, making it harder to hunt and making them more vulnerable to prey.

Satellites have become essential to our lives in so many ways, among them, tracking what’s happening down here, like wildfires, sources of pollution, and levels of water bodies. Companies like Planet are mapping the entirety of Earth’s land masses every 24 hours. Beyond commercial, agricultural, and government applications, its mission is to reveal and make environmental issues actionable.

So, what’s the answer?

To start, awareness is important to press for more thoughtful use of lighting on the ground and to reduce pollution from incidental sources, such as satellites, assuring governments and companies take responsibility.

The astronomers say domestic and international policies for the protection of the sky could be expanded, and the United Nations could designate it as an “intangible cultural heritage.”

Here’s how to help;

Tell us your thoughts, share this post, and go to the Dark Sky Association’s Get Involved page.