When I look up at night where I live in Maplewood, NJ, I can only see a few stars. Then, on visits to my grandparents in Aurora, NY, I can see the whole Milky Way like in the picture below.
If cities turned off all their lights — all the street lamps, billboards, neon signs, car headlights, a clear night sky would look something like this.
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Most people know what pollution is. Air and water pollution are things that kids discuss at school, and adults talk about on the news. But not as many people have heard of light pollution. Light pollution is the brightening of the night sky caused by street lights and other human-made sources, which has a disruptive effect on natural cycles and prevents the observation of stars and planets.
Sea turtle hatchlings use the moonlight reflected off the water to find their way to the ocean. The bright city lights attract the babies' attentions and they make their way towards the roads where they get hit by cars.
Female glow worms use bioluminescence to attract a male mate in the summer months, and in areas with street lights, male glow worms find it more difficult to find glowing females if it isn’t sufficiently dark. Sometimes if it’s too bright, female glow worms might not bother to glow at all.
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In the black areas of this world map, the natural night sky is still mostly visible. In the blue and green areas, stars start fading from the horizon. In the yellow areas, the natural sky is drowned out by street lamps and lit-up buildings. In the red and white areas, it’s usually impossible to see the Milky Way.
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Light pollution is a worldwide problem. It is affecting animals, and also stopping people from seeing the beautiful Milky Way.
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