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The loss of dark skies is so painful, astronomers coined a new term for it (www.space.com)
submitted 3 years ago by to c/technology@lemmy.world
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Given the harmful effects of light pollution, a pair of astronomers has coined a new term to help focus efforts to combat it. Their term, as reported in a brief paper in the preprint database arXiv and a letter to the journal Science, is "noctalgia." In general, it means "sky grief," and it captures the collective pain we are experiencing as we continue to lose access to the night sky.

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[–] 15 points 3 years ago (10 children)

TBH if I’m out at night I’d much prefer it to be bright and lit up in the city. If the city is dark and quiet at night it feels more unsafe to residents.

Not saying it’s right, but it makes sense

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  • [–] 16 points 3 years ago (4 children)

    The city can be lit and bright and keep the light pollution to a low. If only street lights were on, and these were directed towards the ground.

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  • [–] 12 points 3 years ago (3 children)

    Additionally, you’d use a different kind of light for street lights. On the island of Hawaii, that island specifically has a light pollution law that mandates all street lights have to use an orange light bulb, and they can only be in certain places. It’s amazing because you can see so many stars in the night sky.

    If city lights are gonna be on 24/7, we should start to see if we can get traction for reduced brightness and installing less light polluting lights.

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  • [–] 12 points 3 years ago (1 child)

    It's technically not orange light bulbs they have to use, it's a specific lamp style called 'low pressure sodium'

    Here's an article that explains the reasoning behind Hawaii's lighting sources and the regulations:
    https://www.accessfixtures.com/hawaii-lighting-ordinances-dark-sky-regulations/

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  • [–] 7 points 3 years ago

    That site is claiming that phosphor-converted amber LEDs provide all the benefits of low-pressure sodium. They do not; one of the benefits of LPS is that astronomers have a very narrow frequency band to filter out, while PC amber is much wider. Monochromatic amber LEDs are more comparable to LPS.

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  • [–] -1 points 3 years ago* (4 children)

    My gf says the same about our hood. I like it dark as it is. We spend a lot of time walking at night, and I don't feel it's any less safe.

    If you're on the street in the dark, your eyes adjust so you can also see into the shadows. If it's lit up, you can only see what's in the light.

    I'm actually a bit nervous under the bright lights! Having said that, I'm a man and don't have the same concerns as a woman (in the dark).

    On top of that, I almost always carry a pistol with tritium sights or a light. So maybe that's another reason I'm a bit more confident in the dark?

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  • [–] 14 points 3 years ago (1 child)

    On top of that, I almost always carry a pistol with tritium sights or a light. So maybe that’s another reason I’m a bit more confident in the dark?

    Yeah, carrying a gun everywhere might have something to do with why you feel comfortable and other people don't.

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  • [–] 5 points 3 years ago*

    Meh, a gun is a rock-bottom, last resort thing. It's not something where a sane person thinks, "I'm armed so I have nothing to fear."

    Hard to explain to someone that doesn't carry, but it makes one hyper-aware of their situation, because it's a trump card you don't want to play. Makes you more likely to avoid risk, if that makes sense.

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  • [–] 9 points 3 years ago (1 child)

    I’m actually a bit nervous under the bright lights!

    Yeah, because everything outside the light cone will be pitch black to you. I think that's another benefit of those old orange lights. They don't cause your eyes to adjust, so you can still see well how the surroundings look like.

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