Astronomy and Society

Satellites and Space Debris Are Polluting Our Night Skies

Astronomers are sounding the alarm about low-Earth orbit satellites and space debris as significant contributors to light pollution that will affect even the remotest earthbound stargazer.

Light pollution map for North America

Astronomy and Society

Light Pollution Is Creeping Up on the World's Observatories

Astronomical observatories enjoy some of the world’s darkest night skies. But even there light pollution is spreading, a new study suggests.

ISS view of Earth at night

Astronomy and Society

What we know about Light Pollution – and What We Don’t

The International Dark-Sky Association’s has summarized more than 300 peer-reviewed studies on the effects of artificial light at night in an effort to help dark-sky advocates.

Solar eruption

Solar System

Tree Rings Help Reconstruct a Millennium of the Sun's Activity

Astronomers are using tree rings as a historical record of solar activity — and they've found that the Sun was much more active in the past.

Astronomy and Society

Astronomers Dim Street Lights to Home in on Light Pollution

Street lights contribute to light pollution, but they are far from the only culprits — and fixing street lights is far from the only solution.

An arm to the sun

Spacecraft and Space Missions

Does Starlink Pose a Space Debris Threat? An Expert Answers

SpaceX's Starlink satellites have come under heavy criticism for their potential to clutter the sky. Here's what a space debris expert has to say about it.

Gaia's map of 1.7 billion stars in the Milky Way and beyond

Spacecraft and Space Missions

Gaia Maps 1.7 Billion Stars, Widens Cosmic Census

With its second data release, the European Space Agency's Gaia satellite has redefined the way we look at our galaxy.

Milan (before change to LED lights)

Astronomy and Society

The Lost LED Revolution: Light Pollution Is Increasing

The transition from sodium lights to LEDs, the so-called “lighting revolution”, was supposed to reduce energy consumption and bring back the starry sky, but new satellite data indicate it’s not working out that way.

Light Pollution Map - Canary Islands

Save Dark Skies

Starry Success: Protecting the Night Sky Above La Palma

Ten years ago, La Palma was declared a "Starlight Reserve" and measures were implemented to protect its skies from light pollution. How did they work?

Gaia all-sky map

Stellar Science

Gaia Mission Maps 1 Billion Stars

The European Space Agency's Gaia mission has released its first data release, mapping a billion stars across the Milky Way and beyond

Measuring skyglow in Arizona

Save Dark Skies

Rate the Darkness of Your Sky

A new website shows how light pollution spreads around the globe — using data gathered by its users.

Asteroids in the inner solar system

Solar System

Do We Need "Asteroid Day"?

Are we really doing enough to find asteroids, especially the smaller ones that could destroy a city? A private initiative urges a rapid ramp-up of the search effort — but not everyone agrees.

European Extremely Large Telescope

Professional Telescopes

Groundbreaking for Europe's Giant Telescope

The top of Cerro Armazones in Chile yielded on June 19th to a blast that paves the way for the European Extremely Large Telescope.

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