International Dark Sky Week, a worldwide initiative begun by fourth-year College student Jennifer Barlow, will take place from April 20 to 26. The event aims to raise awareness about light pollution by encouraging people to turn off outdoor lighting and install more efficient lighting systems. This would increase the visibility of stars and celestial bodies, Barlow said.
Light pollution results from lighting systems that focus their energy upward instead of downward, Barlow said, noting that these systems effectively blanket the visibility of distant stars and planets.
“When we build telescopes, we have to put them far away from light pollution,” Astronomy Prof. Edward Murphy said. “The problem we’re running into is that even the best sites in the continental United States still have some light pollution associated with them.”
The International Dark-Sky Association, which acts as a clearinghouse for information regarding pollution-minimizing lighting, plans to participate in and promote the event, said Johanna Duffek, IDA’s sections coordinator and Community liaison. She noted that the organization only designates lighting as dark-sky friendly if the fixture directs light no higher than 90 degrees. This ensures that the illumination travels primarily downward and does not interfere with light from stars and other celestial bodies, she added.
This, in turn, allows consumers to install lower-wattage bulbs, as light that was previously wasted illuminating the air above now focuses on its intended targets below, Duffek said. Lower-wattage bulbs also decrease energy consumption and, as a result, cut costs and greenhouse gas emissions, she said.
Barlow said she started the event in 2002 after taking an interest in astronomy. With the support of the IDA, the event began as one night on which she hoped everyone would turn off their lights to look at the night sky, she said. After two years, the event expanded to an entire week and aimed to promote awareness about the effects of light pollution on nighttime visibility.
The International Year of Astronomy Dark Sky Awareness Global Cornerstone Project — an initiative that has roots in 137 countries — also now helps sponsor the event, Barlow said. Pedro Russo, international astronomy coordinator for the project, said he hopes that International Dark Sky Week will help inspire greater interest in the night sky and convince more young people to study astronomy.
“Some people have never seen the Milky Way,” Russo said. “Somehow we’ve lost that connection with the sky and the stories we know from the past.”
Murphy also expressed concern that light pollution has prevented today’s youth from experiencing the celestial qualities of the universe.
“My greatest concern is that many people have grown up today having never seen the night sky in all its glory,” he said. “Students who grew up in Northern Virginia in particular have only seen a few stars. They don’t know the night sky.”
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