Armagh Observatory

Light Pollution and Dark Skies Campaign

Animations from Need-Less

"It is indeed a feeble light that reaches us from the starry sky. But what would human thought have achieved if we could not see the stars?"
Jean Perrin 1870-1942.
French physicist; Nobel prize for physics 1926.

What is Light Pollution?

Many of us have been dazzled at one time or another by an intense light source, such as a stadium's floodlights or a neighbour's security light, or struggled to see the wonders of the night sky through the now-familiar yellow glow that accompanies any profusely illuminated area such as a car park or shopping centre.

These are but some of the adverse effects of 'light pollution': the inadvertent illumination of an area other than that which the given light source is intended to cover. It comes in many forms: light trespass, for example when a neighbour's so-called security light is shining into your garden or through your bedroom window; sky glow, the illumination of the atmosphere by unshielded lights which limit our view of the cosmos to a handful of the brightest stars; and glare, the dazzling effect of floodlights or spotlights which prevents one from making out objects such as people or vehicles near the source.

The 9th European Symposium for the Protection of the Night Sky takes place from September 17th - 19th 2009 in Armagh, Ireland. The Symposium will deal with the issue of light pollution, its effects on the environment, health, and astronomy and examine how bad lighting is contributing to global climate change.

Videos from the symposium on YouTube