#dark-skies — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #dark-skies, aggregated by home.social.
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New preprint by S. Bará et al., "Protecting and restoring the sky quality at astronomical observatories" https://zenodo.org/records/20259634
In it, the authors argue that traditional regulatory frameworks, which focus primarily on source-by-source lighting controls and local "good practices", are structurally incapable of preventing an unbounded increase in overall skyglow. To remedy this, they propose a comprehensive, top-down framework based on enforceable territorial light emission budgets to actively protect and restore astronomical sites.
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The #LightPollution Theory, Modeling and Measurements (LPTMM) 2026 #conference just wrapped. The latest data indicate an urgent global expansion of artificial light at night. Simultaneously, low Earth orbit is crowded with over 15,000 active satellites, threatening twilight research at professional observatories.
These artificial perturbations trigger profound ecological consequences. Nighttime light desynchronizes the tightly coordinated lunar cues that tropical corals rely on for spawning. It also cuts reef fish sleep short, inducing measurable neuronal DNA damage in the brain. On remote islands, unshielded #LED #lighting infrastructure directly causes severe disorientation and fatal collisions for endemic seabirds.
To protect skies and ecosystems, researchers push to evaluate all-sky angular light distributions and ground-level illuminance over traditional, zenith-only metrics. Utilizing low-cost calibrated RGB digital cameras provides an open, "good enough" baseline to enforce outdoor lighting policies. Real mitigation relies on building cross-discipline coalitions to co-design sustainable lighting directly with local communities.
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Tomorrow is Day 1 of the Light Pollution: Theory, Modeling and Measurement (LPTMM) 2026 meeting in Ensenada, Mexico. Sadly this time I won't be able to join the crew in person, but I'll be listening in from home via the series of tubes known as the Interwebz.
On Friday, I'm excited to (remotely) moderate a roundtable discussion, the anticipated outcome of which is a consensus that it's time to take meaningful next steps toward standardizing measurement methods, reporting and units in light pollution studies.
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Pope Leo XIV today lamented light pollution, telling Vatican Observatory Foundation Board members "we have filled our skies with man-made light that blinds us to the lights God has placed there", evoking the words of his immediate predecessor.
Transcript: https://www.vatican.va/content/leo-xiv/en/speeches/2026/may/documents/20260511-vof.html
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New research shows our planet’s night is more volatile than ever.
A decade of satellite data reveals that while some areas are dimming due to policy changes or crisis, others are brightening at a rate that keeps the global average of light pollution rising by 2% annually.
It’s time to move from studying the glow to taking action. Read more: https://www.darkskyconsulting.com/blog/decoding-a-decade-of-rising-global-light-pollution
#DarkSkies #LightPollution #Science #Environment #NatureRestoration
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This legislation, if signed into law by the U.S. President, will have a direct and harmful effect on conditions at a designated International Dark Sky Sanctuary.
The news item: https://apnews.com/article/mining-moratorium-boundary-waters-senate-vote-3e3f0827d52dd6d37f5e554b804ff27c
The legislation: https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-joint-resolution/140
The Sanctuary: https://darksky.org/places/boundary-waters-canoe-area-dark-sky-sanctuary/
The world is watching.
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Losing the Dark - Flat Screen Version
"Starry skies are a vanishing treasure because light pollution is washing away our view of the cosmos. It not only threatens astronomy, it disrupts wildlife, and affects human health. The yellow glows over cities and towns — seen so clearly from space — are testament to the billions spent in wasted energy from lighting up the sky.
"To help raise public awareness of some of the issues pertaining to light pollution, Loch Ness Productions in collaboration with the International #DarkSky Association has created a 6.5-minute 'public service announcement' called Losing the Dark. It introduces and illustrates some of the issues regarding #LightPollution, and suggests three simple actions people can take to help mitigate it.
"Losing the Dark was initially created in fulldome video format for digital planetarium use. It also has been made as a conventional flat screen video, for use in classrooms, kiosks, museum theaters, and advocate multimedia presentations. Classic #planetarium theaters without fulldome capability can show this version using their traditional video projectors."
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#PortlandME - At the #USM #Planetarium.
Cycle/Losing the Dark
"Starry skies are a vanishing treasure because light pollution is washing away our view of the cosmos. It not only threatens #astronomy, it disrupts #wildlife, and affects human health. The yellow glows over cities and towns — seen so clearly from space — are testament to the billions spent in wasted energy from lighting up the sky."
Price: $9 - $9.50
Dates:
April 16, 1pm - 2pm
April 17, 1pm - 2pm
April 17, 7pm - 8pm
April 18, 1pm - 2pmhttps://usm.maine.edu/calendar-of-events/series/cycle-losing-the-dark/
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It’s International Dark Sky Week (April 13-20, 2026), an annual event held each April during the week of the new moon to celebrate the wonder and importance of the night and raise awareness about the harmful effects of #LightPollution
From the darkness that supports critical wildlife ecosystems to the star-filled skies we enjoy, the night is filled with wonder and importance.
This year’s theme invites people to discover the night by making an active choice: to “go dark” and experience natural darkness firsthand.
More information at the event’s website: https://idsw.darksky.org
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This week is International Dark Sky Week! Get out and enjoy dark skies sometime this week, and learn more about why it's important here:
https://www.backroadsbear.com/2026/04/13/international-dark-sky-week/
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God said: Let the dark be dark.
Let the stars shine properly.
And let darkness with no stars
heal the damage caused by light…—Robin Fulton Macpherson, “In the Dark”
Today, 13 April, is the start of International Dark Sky Week
#Scottish #literature #poem #poetry #DarkSkies #DarkSky #astronomy #InternationalDarkSkyWeek
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New today in @Nature: "Our findings challenge the prevailing perspective that changes in light radiance are largely gradual and unidirectional. Instead, the nightlights of Earth are surprisingly dynamic."
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-026-10260-w
And some reporting on the study and its implications by @skyandtelescope: https://skyandtelescope.org/astronomy-news/light-pollution-is-increasingly-volatile-around-the-world/
#LightPollution #ALAN #ArtificialLightAtNight #RemoteSensing #DarkSkies #NighttimeLights
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“Satellite #megaconstellations operated by developed countries are affecting the pristine night skies of other nations, affecting astronomical observations and #Indigenous practices. International regulation that includes the views of Indigenous peoples and appropriate compensation are called for.”
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41550-026-02810-z -
The global dark-sky movement has hit a hardware ceiling. Shielding works, but it doesn't control how much light we generate. Adaptive lighting is an underutilized means of reducing light pollution. Can #AI encourage its uptake?
The "#LED Paradox" explains why cheap energy efficiency has led to over-illumination. We need to shift from hardware solutions to software and behavioral solutions. AI-driven predictive grids might finally remove the friction from adaptive lighting management.
Read more: https://www.darkskyconsulting.com/blog/ai-and-the-future-of-smart-lighting
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Today CSE filed our Reply Comment with the U.S. Federal Communications Commission challenging Reflect Orbital's application to commercialize the night sky. We maintain that the FCC must uphold legal mandates by requiring a comprehensive environmental review before granting any authority that alters our shared nighttime environment.
Read our full filing here: https://www.spaceenvironmentalism.org/actions/public-statements-and-comments/reflect-orbital-reply-comment-2026
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Get ready to witness the magic of the night sky in Europe's best stargazing spots 🌃💫! From Portugal to Slovakia, explore 13 dark sky locations where the Milky Way shines bright to the naked eye 🌠.
#Europe #Travel #Stargazing #DarkSkies #MilkyWay #NightSky #Astronomy #EuropeanAdventures
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Dreaming of starry nights? ✨ Discover 13 dark sky gems across Europe where the Milky Way shines bright! From Portugal to Slovakia, find your perfect celestial escape. Did you know some spots boast over 270 clear nights a year? 🤯
#Stargazing #Europe #DarkSkies -
A lovely day of #astronomy talks at the local school (as our usual spot, Kielder Castle, is being refurbished) and now sitting with friends in the warm room having drinks and swapping stories while the Seestar does its imaging for me. There’s a great community around astro and starcamps ✨
#KielderStarcamp #stargazing #DarkSkies -
Lovely evening sky view from Kielder Starcamp. The tiniest sliver of a crescent moon is peeking out between the trees on the campsite. We saw a few planets earlier, and the sky is clearing up a bit so we should get some observing in as it gets dark tonight ✨ Super slow connection won’t let me attach an image yet…
#starcamp #stargazing #astro #moon #northumberland #DarkSkies -
@RaymondPierreL3
You know what, there are worse things than being an “ island plunged into darkness under a total power blackout” at night. In some areas of the world, people pay good money to experience actual ‘darkness’; some areas have guaranteed ‘Dark Skies’ enshrined in their local power politics.
Personally, some of the most magical experiences of my life have been under the darkness of a night sky.
I hope Cuba can pull together enough hi- lo- alternate-tech to generate the power to run whatever they need to run & I hope Thump explodes under the force of his own lies, gasbagging & gaslighting.#Cuba #darkness #DarkSkies #energy #renewableEnergy #USPol #gasbagging #gaslighting
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@esoastronomy Tagging @sundogplanets in this thread.
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There really is no idea too stupid for private equity out there...as long as there is a white dude pitching it they will throw money at it hand over fist.
This is the WORST idea...ever. Giant #SpaceMirrors redirecting sunlight and disrupting your sleep. #DarkSkies
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#FCC Deciding Whether to Allow Startup to Launch Huge #MirrorSatellite to Blast Sunlight on Cities at Nighttime
"The implications for #wildlife, for all life, are enormous."
By Frank Landymore
Published Mar 10, 2026Excerpt: "The idea is as far-fetched as it is controversial. But something like it has been attempted before. In 1993, the Russian satellite Znamya, or 'Banner,' deployed a 65-foot-wide sheet of mylar that reflected a beam of light twice as bright as the Moon, illuminating a roughly three mile wide circle onto the Earth below like an orbital spotlight. It didn’t prove to be practical, however, with ground observers noticing no more than a flash of light, and it was exorbitantly expensive to pull off.
"Even so, it has the potential to massively disrupt the environment and interfere with many human operations. And the far-reaching consequences of such a technology is exposing the limits of the FCC’s remit.
"Experts fear that light from space mirrors could disrupt circadian rhythms in nature, posing a problem for flora and fauna alike. Animals might breed at the wrong time, and hibernating insects and migrating birds could be confused, Martha Hotz Vitaterna, a research professor of neurobiology at Northwestern University, told the NYT. And plants could bloom when pollinators aren’t active.
" 'The implications for wildlife, for all life, are enormous,' added Vitaterna, who is co-director of the Center for Sleep and Circadian Biology."
Read more:
https://futurism.com/space/fcc-huge-mirror-satellite#DarkSkies #LightPollution #BadIdea #USPol #Idiocracy #MirrorSatellites #CircadianRhythms
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RE: https://mastodon.social/@sundogplanets/116161149603554205
READ
❝ There are over 600 comments submitted on Reflect Orbital's filing ❞
AS
❝ There are over 600 comments submitted on Rectal Orbiting filing ❞
and you did too.
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Can we have vibrant cities AND #DarkSkies? Lighting designer Vellachi Ganesan shares how precision optics and smart tech are revolutionary advancements for creating better outdoor spaces and protecting the night sky.
http://www.darkskyconsulting.com/blog/vellachi-ganesan-interview-mar2026
