Stars and Planes over Chongqing

The trails by airplanes to or from the Jiangbei airport seem to separate the battle of the starlight and the city lights of Chongqing in this 3-hour exposure image. The view was taken from the top of Mount NanShan, overlooking the entire Chongqing city, surrounded by mountains and on the shore of Yangtze and Jialing Rivers. 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. For most of human history, the night sky was an essential part of our nature. Now most of humanity lives under intersecting domes of reflected, refracted lights, of scattering rays from overlit cities. Now China is in action. © Jeff Dai