Our experience with night has been profoundly changed during past 200 years ever since electricity lighted up every house and family. Our modern nocturnal footprint is so bright that it is detectable from outer space. Cities stop sleeping. Animal and plant’s life cycle is disrupted, and people stop being humble and curious. What we have lost isn’t just the wonder of the night sky that drowned out in city lights.

The U.S. Light Pollution Map at Night by County, 2018

Sea turtles are very sensitive to artificial light, because new hatched sea turtles could easily lost their navigating ability when city lights disrupt their visual cues at night. Therefore, find new habitats that are away from city lights became essential.

This visualization shows that in Florida, sea turtles are quickly losing their habitat to human. They have been basically wiped out from east coast of Florida and other traditional habitats, like Daytona Beach, Key West islands and Tampa bay and move to new habitat like Jupiter.

The Habitat Shift of Sea Turtles in Florida, Before & After 2005

Cities stop sleeping, so as people. Millions of people working night shifts. Research suggest that interrupt biological rhythms are linked to medical disorders such as heart disease, insomnia, and depression.

The diagram shows that when population density increased, its co-relation with insufficient sleep increased. At Routt, Colorado, where is far away from city and crowd, people have the best sleeping quality among U.S..

U.S. Insufficient Sleep Map, 2018

People from last generation must have experience of venturing at night on their own backyard to observe fireflies. But seeing a firefly in the city today almost feel like win a lottery. Fireflies are escaping away from city because artificial light is disrupting their mating process.

Nowadays, more and more people staring at screen all night, instead of go outside with friends and celebrate the beauty of the nature. People used to gather around campfires at night to tell stories and sing songs. In modern society, we are more used to be along, bathed in our individual sources of light

Firefly Sighting Data, Between 2009-2013

Probably the most obvious change for modern night would be the sky. Most of us living in the urban cities lost the chance of even take a glimpse of the big dipper, we lost the opportunities of feeling humble and feeling as a part of the planet. As ordinary person, we are losing out curiosity of universe and the spirit of exploration together with the stars.

Light pollution is also an increasing problem for astronomy and observatories, because artificial light not only brighten the night sky, but also affect spectra taking for objects and potentially adding inaccuracy to research. The visualization shows the site lasted 20 observatories, to avoid artificial light, they were built far away from cities.

Observatory Built, Before & After 2002

Turn off the light

In Iceland, Reykajavik’s streets light will be turn off by city government when aurora burst, in order to let citizens and tourists enjoy it. There are ways we can do far better than we are doing right now and not sacrifice any of the needs we have in terms of lighting at night for human safety and well-being.

Go to the wild

Taking some friends, and planning a trip to a nearby national park could be a good way to explore the wonder of the nature at light. There are plenty of activities you can enjoy at night besides stargazing - a moonlight walk, camping, firefly watching, or search for other nighttime critters.

Stay curious

Even in the city, people can still enjoy a night without spending a lot of money. Wants to see the stars in the city? Go to the local planetarium to watch a night sky show could be a good replacement, it is also a good place to learn about universe and our planet. Or, just simply put down your phone and have a good night’s sleep.

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