Sky and Telescope (28 January 2025)

Space Industry Adds Threats to Astronomy, Light Pollution Remains a Big Problem

Overall, diffuse brightening of the sky remains a more difficult problem to address than launches, satellites, or even space billboards. Our night sky has been growing rapidly brighter, at a rate as high as 10% per year, even affecting major observatories.

“I think it is fair to say that right now the bigger concern for ground-based astronomy is certainly light pollution, by far,” said John Barentine (Dark Sky Consulting), also speaking at the AAS meeting. “Artificial light at night emissions have been rising around the world at a fairly alarming rate.”

Read more: https://skyandtelescope.org/astronomy-news/space-industry-adds-threats-to-astronomy-light-pollution-remains-a-big-problem/