Milky Way Vanished from Sight: Understanding Light Pollution; Remaining Locations for Best View
Light Pollution Outshines the Milky Way
Apparent darkness is the only requirement of the night skies for you to view the astounding Milky Way. Sadly, only about one-third of humanity can view it, according to a new global atlas of light pollution.
Light Pollution Affecting the Galaxy
The Milky Way comprises of the stars, gas, dust and dark matter. In total darkness, the marvelous sight could be viewed as a faint band of light stretching across the sky with the naked eye. With the presence of light, however, this notable sight had become rare to about 80 percent of the world with light pollution.
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Light pollution is the effect of excessive usage of artificial light. It is believed the adverse effects of light pollution extend beyond astronomy, with a new research suggesting that the excessive use of artificial light may interfered with normal circadian rhythms (a roughly 24-hour cycle in the physiological processes of living beings).
"I am convinced that light pollution is no longer a problem for astronomers. It is a global problem for everyone. All life on Earth evolved with the dark, with 12 hours of dark and 12 hours of sun. But now we are enveloping our planet in a perpetual glow. And life is affected by that," said Fabio Falchi of the Light Pollution Science and Technology Institute in Italy.
A Generation Blinded by LED Lights
In North America and Europe, 99 percent of the people are surrounded with bright lights of the city. With the innovation of LED lights, light pollution had become more widespread. For the first time in history, entire generations of people have never seen the Milky Way.
The cities with the brightest lights include Milan, Rome and Munich. Meanwhile, in Asia, South Korea, Singapore and Tokyo are some of the others which stand bright 24/7. The remaining locations with black nights include parts of New Zealand and the Australian outback, in Greenland, Mauritania, Namibia, the western United States, South America, Madagascar, city of Greeley, Boulder (Colorado) and Atacama desert (Chile). In western Europe, Norway, Sweden and Scotland still have untarnished skies, still perfect for viewing the stunning Milky Way. Falchi once visited the Atacama desert where he saw the Milky Way and where he describe it as one of the great natural wonders.
