Gone with the Light

The above images compare the magnificent Milky Way view above Alborz mountain range in northern Iran with the grey star-free sky of metropolitan Tehran, only 65 km (40 miles) away from location of the upper image. The difference is unbelievable. This is what we are losing by wasting energy toward the sky.

Today most city skies have become virtually empty of stars. Light pollution obscures the stars, interferes with astronomical observatories, and, like any other form of pollution, disrupts ecosystems and has adverse health effects. As noted in National Geographic November 2008 issue at “Our Vanishing Night” by Verlyn Klinkenborg “For most of human history, the phrase light pollution would have made no sense. Now most of humanity lives under intersecting domes of reflected, refracted light, of scattering rays from overlit cities and suburbs, from light-flooded highways and factories.” TWAN attention to preserving night sky as part of our natural heritage is to support global efforts in controlling light pollution (International Dark Sky Association).