Darkness News

ALAN Increases the Rate of Death to Predation Among Caterpillars

March 28, 2023 - Science Daily

Lepidopterists at Cornell U have found that under lighting conditions between 10 to 15 lux moth caterpillars will suffer attacks from predators at rate 27% greater than areas kept dark. Ecologist Sara Kaiser asks that homeowners consider keeping exterior lighting off whenever possible to improve survival rates during the summer.

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Universidade de Santiago de Compostela Contra “Big Light” and “Big Space”

March 27, 2023 - Nature Astronomy

An article published in Nature Astronomy calls for regulation against light pollution and low-earth orbit objects as an act of preservation of the astronomical field. The article highlights the cash positions and interests of commercial space programs and the lighting industry as hazard to their work.

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Upper Peninsula Hosts Dark Sky Festival in April

March 24, 2023 - M Live

Copper Harbor, MI will host workshops, hikes, and special events at the Keweenaw Dark Sky Park on April 2st1 and 22nd. This is timed to coincide with Dark Sky Week.

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ALAN is Changing Urban Bird Demography

March 23, 2023 - Scientific Reports

A study of birds living in or near 17 European cities has found that insectivorous and omnivorous species are being pushed out of their habitats by lack of food related to light pollution. Their findings all for more diversification efforts from urbanists and landscape designers.

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Poor Sleep Linked with Atherosclerosis

March 22, 2023 - Posts English

A study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association has linked irregular sleep with cardiovascular disease in adults over 45. The study specifically calls out the importance of darkness before bed in a good night’s sleep.

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Pepperell, Mass Picks 2200K Street Lighting

March 21, 2023 - LEDs Magazine

North-eastern Massachusetts town will replace its 413 municipally-owned street lamps with amber-warm LEDs from Cooper. The town, under advisement from a local IDA member, has also opted to dim the fixtures to 30% between midnight and dawn.

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Light Before Bed Linked with Gestational Diabetes

March 20, 2023 - American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology

Pre-sleep light exposure during the second trimester does acutely impair the metabolism and insulin sensitivity. The study recommends modifying behavior around light-emitting devices of all sorts during pregnancy to reduce risks.

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ALAN is Causing ‘Ecological Chaos’

March 17, 2023 - BBC Future

Abundance of light at night is altering the growth and reproductive cycles of plants, which in turn is altering the life cycle of pollinators. These harms are compounding on each other making things worse for all plants and animals.

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“Lights Out: Recovering Our Night Sky” Coming to the Smithsonian

March 16, 2023 - Smithsonian Institute

On March 23rd, the capitol museum will host a 4,000 sq-ft exhibition on the effect of light pollution in history curated by Stephen Loring and Kim Arcand. The display will remain on December of 2025.

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Sleep Deprivation Decreases Inhibitions in Young Males

March 15, 2023 - International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health

A team of researchers at the School of Psychology, Beijing Sport University, Beijing has found that cognitive processing ability drops off after periods without sleep.

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Bowie Tribute Concert at Hebridean Dark Sky Festival

March 14, 2023 - The Scotsman

The Isle of Lewis off the coast of Scotland played host to varied covers and alternate reimagining of space-themed David Bowie songs performed by Josie Duncan, Scott C Park, Michael McGovern, and Andrew Eaton-Lewis on March 10th as part of the local astrotourism event.

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Danish Church to Install ‘Moonlighting’ System

March 13, 2023 - Hakai Magazine

A design for an exterior lighting system from the Aalbolg University would see a church on Anholt Island between Denmark and Sweden dim light relative to available moonlight. Local dark sky advocates have already overseen the town’s exterior lighting for light pollution mitigation already.

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