Oh, I couldn't agree more...there's nothing more thrilling than to look up into a night sky and see the zillions of stars shining out there in the firmament...now bloody invisible thanks to perishing night lighting...definitely something should be done about it...I think this lack is causing a lot of mental problems for people as well because they can't relate to the earth in the way the previous generations did when night was night and day was day....great big hugs...XX

When we moved here in the mid-80s, we could see the Milky Way on most frosty nights, a glorious sight. But 25 years on, badly designed external lighting on neighbouring houses, lights on transmission towers, and the lighting of major roads on the skyline, has meant it's nowhere near as velvety dark, but a horrid orange glow disfigures the horizon. I mourn the clear view of the stars that my children had, any any future grandchildren will not.

Perhaps the need to use less electricity will mean we turn off more lights at night. I hope so.

Lovely view.

A very interesting topic. Thank you for the very helpful links.

Many a time living in a city, I have felt very angry about all the street lighting. If our societies were normal rather than grossly abnormal behaviour-wise, the problem would be much less.

Driving back down the M1 this week even in complete darkness you could instantly *sense" a city coming up by the light pollution on the horizon!!!
I did not travel on it this time but I know on the M62 motorway over the penines they fitted new "lamps"
When you drove down it it looked like a "curtain" of downward light onto the road not "bleeding" into the sky!!!!
This must have been thinking about it nearly 7 or 8 years ago so the technology IS THERE!!
It needs to be implemened!!!!!!!!

Beautiful picture, love the colours

I remember when we went on holiday somewhere near Cardigan, can't remember where, except it was completely in the middle of nowhere, no houses, no streetlights, no nothing for miles around. I was fascinated at night when I stood outside the whole of the sky seemed to come right down to the ground and looked like black velvet with glitter sprinkled all over it, it was so pretty and you didn't have to bend your head back to look up at the sky to see the stars they were just all around almost to the ground - beautiful.

The extinction of dark skies from most of the UK is certainly a tragedy, but what is worse, most people couldn't care less. In the main the public stereotype of those who value it is of nerds and eccentrics. The situation is made worse by an insensitive lighting industry that is out of control, and municipal lighting authorities that promulgate the urban myth that more and brighter lighting = greater safety and security. It is now well established this is not true. Lighting does not reduce crime, yet the myth is perpetuated in order to maximise profits.

Consequently we suffer from the twenty-four hour day with all its negative effects on human health. The environmental degradation that it causes is again well established and in the public domain.

I count myself lucky in having lived in rural Africa for many years and seen the night sky in all its glory. Not only was the Milky Way visible on a regular basis, but also lesser known phenomena like Zodiacal Light and Gegenschein that I have never seen from the UK. Most people will now go through their whole lives without ever seeing them, and this is a sad indictment on our society and lifestyle.

Time is long overdue for the world to wake up to the problem. I'm not against lighting, but it should be used sparingly, on a needs must basis, when needed, where needed, and in the correct amounts. The technology is available to rectify the problem, and has been for about twenty years. What is needed is the will by local and national government to implement legislation that will protect the environment from this scourge once and for all, and preserve the night sky for future generations.