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Light Pollution Map - Canary Islands

Get Involved

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?

Astronomy & Observing News

Measuring the Impacts of Light Pollution

Light pollution is pervasive, and its impact on people is larger than you might think.

Cheney in Times Square

Astronomy & Observing News

AMA Addresses Light Pollution

The American Medical Association has released a report detailing several possible health concerns related to nighttime light exposure. But some lighting researchers worry the conclusions are more alarmist than is warranted.

M31

Observing

111 Deep Sky Wonders for Light-Polluted Skies

Bright skies aren't empty skies. See for yourself how many treasures lie hidden in the glow of a city sky.

Astronomy Questions & Answers

Will meteor showers be enchanced if you fly 3,000 feet above the ground in an airplane?

I recently got my pilot license. Will meteor showers be enhanced at all for my girlfriend and me in a low-winged Tomahawk airplane, flying 3,000 feet above the ground?There are several tradeoffs to consider. True, you’ll be 1 kilometer closer to the meteors overhead. But most of them flash into…

Moon's skyglow

Astronomy Questions & Answers

How does the Moon's phase affect the skyglow of any given location, and how many days before or after a new Moon is a dark site not compromised?

How does the Moon's phase affect the skyglow of any given location? How many days before or after a new Moon is a dark site not compromised? The answer is complicated because the Moon's glow is even more directional than light pollution. Skyglow is several times brighter near the Moon…

Astronomy Questions & Answers

What’s the difference between nebula filters and light-pollution filters?

What’s the difference between nebula filters and light-pollution filters? Nebula filters block out most of the visible spectrum while transmitting the handful of finely tuned colors that emanate from the most luminous constituents of cosmic gas clouds: hydrogen atoms and oxygen ions. Light-pollution filters, by contrast, are designed to block…

Winter constellations seen in a class 4 or 5 sky

Resources and Education

Gauging Light Pollution: The Bortle Dark-Sky Scale

Excellent? Typical? Urban? Use this nine-step scale to rate the sky conditions at any observing site.