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Media Appearances

WIRED (13 June 2023)

6/17/2023

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Satellites Keep Photobombing Space Images. Astronomers Need a Fix

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The Rubin collaboration has expressed concern about the possibility of false alerts thanks to light reflecting off of satellites or space junk in orbit and has warned that as many as 30 percent of its images could be affected by satellite streaks. For example, a glint of sunlight off a small piece of insulation shed by a satellite could appear in a telescope image like a flaring star. Unless an astronomer can also measure the light's spectrum, they might be fooled, says John Barentine, a Tucson, Arizona, astronomer who recently authored a study about light pollution from low Earth orbit objects.​
Read more: ​https://www.wired.com/story/satellites-keep-photobombing-space-images-astronomers-need-a-fix/
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Mpls St Paul Magazine (8 June 2023)

6/17/2023

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​How Light Pollution Threatens Minnesota's Wildlife and Dark Skies

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Recorded observations of light’s impact on the environment date back to ancient Rome, when people noticed that their fires affected animal behavior, says John Barentine, an astronomer and freelance dark-sky consultant in Tucson, Arizona. Gas, and later electric, lights altered the appearance of the night sky through the 1800s and into the 1900s, when observatories moved outside of cities to escape sky glow, followed by an accelerated brightening of nighttime as the 20th century went on. Then came light-emitting diodes, or LEDs. A type of semiconductor, LEDs use less energy than other kinds of light bulbs typically used in streetlights and other outdoor fixtures, making their carbon footprint smaller. They last longer and cost less to operate. Those features make LEDs environmentally appealing in many ways, Barentine says, and society embraced them.

Read more: https://mspmag.com/arts-and-culture/light-pollution-mn/
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SPACE.com (4 May 2023)

6/17/2023

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​Satellite megaconstellations are threatening astronomy. What can be done?

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The thought that all astronomy should be done off-Earth also elicits a response from John Barentine, executive officer and principal consultant at Dark Sky Consulting in Tucson, Arizona. This consulting group is focused on light pollution, dark skies and astronomy.

As for space-based observatories, not all of them fly above the satellites in question, Barentine said, in particular, the Hubble Space Telescope that orbits sufficiently low that its images are sometimes directly affected by satellite trails. 

Barentine points to a recent search of Hubble's data archive by using machine learning. The result was finding more than 2,400 satellite trails in images. "We expect to see a big increase in that number for however many years of useful life the Hubble Space Telescope has left," he said.

Read more: https://www.space.com/satellite-megaconstellations-astronomy-dark-skies
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Smithsonian Magazine (14 April 2023)

6/17/2023

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Why It’s Time for a Worldwide Lights-Out Program

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John Barentine, an astronomer with Dark Sky Consulting, previously managed the International Dark Sky Places Program, where he spoke with many city dwellers who got the chance to observe the Milky Way for the first time. The experience for many of them was extremely emotional. “It was rare that I’d talk to somebody who kind of shrugged their shoulders,” he says. “Many described it as a deeply spiritual, even [a] religious experience that I think taps into something that’s deep in our core as human beings.”

Read more: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/heres-why-experts-agree-its-time-for-a-worldwide-lights-out-program-180981980/
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KQED (30 March 2023)

4/9/2023

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In Search of Bright Stars: Can the Bay Area Reduce Its Worsening Light Pollution?

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According to John Barentine, scientist, astronomer and principal consultant at Dark Sky Consulting, the study contains a caveat: He says it best represents areas with the most citizen-science participation — namely, places like North America. Barentine noted that according to Globe at Night, from 2011 to 2022 the brightness of the night sky in the Bay Area increased by approximately 7% each year.
Read more: ​https://www.kqed.org/news/11945083/in-search-of-bright-stars-can-the-bay-area-reduce-its-worsening-light-pollution
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Sky & Telescope (27 March 2023)

4/9/2023

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Satellites and space debris are polluting our night skies

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​Anyone who has watched the night sky recently knows it: Satellites are everywhere. They flash across the firmament, paint streaks on photos, and irritate stargazers. In just three years since the advent of so-called megaconstellations, such as SpaceX’s Starlink, light pollution by objects in Earth’s orbit has moved from non-topic to possibly the most serious threat to ground-based astronomy. And, as John Barentine (Dark Sky Consulting) and his colleagues discuss in a paper published in Nature Astronomy, it could get worse — much worse.
Read more: ​https://skyandtelescope.org/astronomy-news/satellites-and-space-debris-are-polluting-our-night-skies/
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Next City (16 March 2023)

4/9/2023

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How Mass Bird Death In Philadelphia Catalyzed A Local Lights-out Program

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[C]ompanies may feel they can get a bigger bang for their buck (and mental energy) by completing other eligible projects. John Barentine, a light pollution consultant who has had discussions with commercial property owners about such measures, points out that LEED certification provides the same number of points for bicycle facilities in new construction as light pollution mitigation. “You get the equivalent amount of credit for putting in bike racks as far as the certification goes,” he explains. “So why would you go to all this extra trouble if it’s just as easy to get equivalent credit doing something that’s a lot easier and that people might actually use?”
Read more: ​https://nextcity.org/urbanist-news/how-mass-bird-death-in-philadelphia-catalyzed-a-local-lights-out-program
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WIRED (13 February 2023)

4/9/2023

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Citizen Scientists Show Light Pollution Erases Stars From the Sky

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There are good reasons for nighttime lighting, including ensuring public safety. But that doesn’t have to be in tension with protecting the night sky, argues John Barentine, a Tucson-based astronomer and executive officer of Dark Sky Consulting, which advises companies and city officials on outdoor lighting use. He points to Tucson as a success story. “I don’t see why the policies here can’t be exported to other places,” he says. “We know they work.”
Read more: ​https://www.wired.com/story/citizen-scientists-show-light-pollution-erases-stars-from-the-sky/
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Physics Today (2 February 2023)

2/3/2023

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Consulting can be stimulating and lucrative for physicists

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Astronomer John Barentine launched his consulting business in summer 2021. From years working at the International Dark-Sky Association, a nongovernmental organization, he recognized a need he was well-suited to fill: advising parks, nature reserves, and municipalities on how to improve their lighting. “If they receive accreditation for dark skies, it’s a badge of pride and it drives tourism,” he says. “Some clients just want advice. Others want help writing bylaws or deeper involvement in the implementation.”
Read more: https://physicstoday.scitation.org/doi/full/10.1063/PT.3.5173
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Science (19 January 2023)

2/3/2023

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​Light pollution is drowning the starry night sky faster than thought

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“The problem is worse than we previously believed,” says John Barentine, an independent dark sky researcher based in Arizona who didn’t participate in the study.

​The findings also suggest existing dark sky ordinances haven’t accomplished much, Barentine adds. Despite warnings about light pollution, communities have continued to add artificial lighting, he says. “You put together cheap lighting and fear of the dark … and people are not choosing preservation of darkness.”

Read more: https://www.science.org/content/article/light-pollution-drowning-starry-night-sky-faster-thought
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  • Home
  • Bio
  • CV
  • Media
  • Outreach
  • Photos
    • Germany 2019
    • Hungary 2019
    • Taiwan 2018
    • New Zealand 2018
    • UK 2017
    • Wyoming Eclipse 2017
    • Catalonia 2017
    • Romania 2016
    • Japan 2016
    • Korea 2014
  • Astronomy
    • Carbon Star List
    • The Bluest Hipparchos Stars
    • Astronomical Visibility
    • Lunar Domes
    • Astrophotography
  • Research
    • Earthshine
    • Skyglow
    • Megaconstellations
    • Night Sky Photometers
  • Papers
  • Books
    • Ashen Light of Venus
    • The Lost Constellations
    • Uncharted Constellations
  • Contact