Stickers

It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.

Streetlights

Streetlights heavily contribute to skyglow as they are constantly turned on during the night and opted by cities to use high pressure sodium light bulbs. However, as people continue to learn about the negative effects of streetlights, cities are being pushed towards more environmentally friendly LED lights. Due to the energy efficiency of blue LED lights, most city planners end up choosing those when they do the switch. While LED streetlights produce less greenhouse gases, they are not as visually appealing as people would prefer. Blue LED lights create strong glare, ending up brighter and increasing the skyglow. However, studies are still being done to maximize the LED lights’ performance while minimizing its damage to the environment There are talks about lights being dimmed and maybe even being turned off when not in use. It is in everybody’s best interest to quickly come up with a solution before skyglow continues to spread and ruins the night sky.

Exoplanets

Astronomers like Helena Richie have been on the search for exoplanets, which are planets not in our solar system. Exoplanets include all different types of planets like terrestrial or gaseous planets. Not only would they like to know where those planets are, but whether or not those planes contain life. However, skyglow is a significant problem for astronomers, the bright night sky making it difficult to impossible to spot objects in space. Helena Richie shared that she was inspired to follow her passion for astronomy when she saw the night sky filled with stars. She stated that there were so many questions about the world that were waiting to be discovered. One of the intangible harms of skyglow is that it is preventing a future generation of astronomers from being inspired.

Lightbulbs

While it is easy to blame skyglow on the millions of streetlamps, we must also take responsibility as well. When we turn on the lights when it is not necessary, that blame also falls on us. We should be more knowledgeable as to how our actions affect the world. In addition, we should understand the pros and cons of the lightbulbs we use. If we know that the type of lightbulbs we use are not the most environmentally, we should consider switching them out.

Staying Up

It is four in the morning, and I still cannot convince my body to fall asleep. It is as if it is distracted by the world outside, so bright, so beautiful, so deadly. And it does not seem as if I am the only one as I look out the window to see other people’s lights still on. People might find it surprising that skyglow actually has very harmful effects on humans. It ruins people’s circadian rhythms. And circadian rhythms are important for people’s sleep schedule, by disrupting something that important increases the risk of diabetes, cancer, and heart problems. One of the negative effects of skyglow that I have personally experienced is insomnia. I don’t know whether it is comforting or terrifying to know that I am not alone with this struggle.

The Beauty of the Night Sky

Oftentimes we get so caught up with things we can see online that we forget the beauty that exists in the real world. The world is beautiful and we must do our best to maintain it. However, we have not been doing a good job as we constantly flood the night sky with too much light. Skyglow impacts the way we see stars, planets, the milky way, and even northern lights. Some cities have established ways to cut back light pollution or even suggest not having lights turned on for a while so citizens are able to see the night sky in all of its beauty. This would mean that people would not have to drive miles away from cities just to see what is already there.

Save the Dark

As the night sky gets brighter and brighter, the message becomes clear. We have to save the dark.