HONG KONG: The Milky Way should be visible from earth but a new study says that only about one third of Americans can see our own galaxy from their own backyards. Why is that? The answer is “light pollution.”
The study, published in the journal Park Science, says that national parks are the best places to get a good view of the sky at night, particularly if you want to see a certain stellar object at its peak during the year.
And the reason national parks make for the best view at night is because too many cities are encroaching on mother nature and nighttime lights—artificial, electric light—reduces the brightness of the stars and that makes it harder for the human eye to detect in the night.
Actually, the study says that “light pollution” is evolving the human eye to become unable to detect light in natural darkness.
“There is a growing consciousness in the U.S. about the disappearance of naturally dark skies that’s kind of paradoxical,” explains study leader Bob Manning. “It’s one of those things that we start to notice only when it begins to disappear.”
“The [park service] doesn’t have absolute control over what is going on outside the park but it can exert a lot of influence,” he continues, “especially if there is tourism associated with night skies.”
In fact, the US National Park Service policy and management regulations actually reflect the importance of the night sky, requiring explicit management of national parks to ensure effective preservation of the night sky.
Tesla driverless system to use updated radar technology
WASHINGTON: Electric carmaker Tesla announced Sunday it was upgrading its Autopilot software to use more advanced radar technology. In a...
