there’s an old Nursery Rhyme that each
and every one of us knows and it starts
like this twinkle twinkle little star
how I wonder what you are but in only a
matter of years we might have to change
the words to this variable unknown verse
no longer will we be able to ask the
star what you are
instead we’ll be asking the question
where you are because of this current
moment stars are disappearing at an
alarming rate
our night sky today is drastically
different from the one we saw 10 years
ago the brilliancy of stars is slowly
diminishing until their vibrant glow
vanished from sight and with the current
rate at which this takes place there
might not be any stars left in the city
of Lincoln in the next decade to clarify
I’m not here to talk to you about some
newly discovered black hole or starting
force that could potentially devour our
Sun and in turn wipe out all life on
Earth thankfully while the physical
stars that are light-years away will
continue to exist for a millennia our
ability to see them will more or less
disappear if we were to look out at the
night sky tonight here’s we’d most
likely see a sparse array of white dots
if you’re lucky the Big Dipper but
contrary to popular belief the state of
Nebraska is in just entirely corn fields
if we were to drive 40 miles south to a
rural area known as Sterling Nebraska
here’s will be treated to instead now
both photos were taken with the same
camera at the same time of the year and
feature the same portion of the sky yeah
the ladder offers a clearer view of the
Milky Way a spectacle that many people
sadly don’t even know is visible to the
naked eye in fact according to the
National Geographic as of June of 2016
more than 80% of Americans can’t see the
Milky Way from their own backyard this
is because ironically
the lights of our night sky are being
actively snuffed out by lights of our
own creation similar to air and water
pollution light pollution is the
overabundance of Antep Edenic or
man-made light in tonight environment
and it’s the reason why our stars are
fading from view the excess light from
cities leaks into our night sky and
covers natural starlight with a dirty
yellow haze in exchange for modern
urbanization we sacrifice our ability to
see the natural beauty of our night sky
spectacles such as the planet Jupiter
the Orion constellation and even the
entirety of the nearby Andromeda galaxy
will soon disappear it’s a tragedy
because although these phenomena will
continue to exist in our universe they
simply won’t for our eyes here is a map
of light pollution in the United States
it’s like a weather map any colored
region marks an area that is affected or
it’s representing a diagram that it
picks the most interesting places in the
United States
notice how the Midwest is generally gray
but that’s what’s ironic the black and
gray areas are largely unaffected while
blues and greens are mildly polluted and
yellow to red detail is where our
problem is at its worst understandably
urban areas like the eastern half and
the western coast of the United States
experienced the worst of the problem and
prevent millions of people from seeing
what our night sky has to offer
it’s only a matter of time before light
pollution covers the entirety of our map
many people argue today that stars are a
little more than just a mere decoration
but surprisingly
this couldn’t be further from the truth
the absence of a truly dark sky has
potentially dire consequences for
Humanity circadian rhythm also known as
our internal clock operates on a 24-hour
cycle that helps to regulate our sleep
hunger and bodily functions for many
people this means feeling tired at the
right times and sleeping on a regular
schedule that as a high school student
it ensures I sleep sparsely and feel
tired all the time in a 2016
comprehensive of artificial night sky
brightness a group of researchers led by
Fabio Falchi discovered that the
reflection of electric lights in our
atmosphere is sufficient enough to cause
disruption in our body’s natural rhythm
and can lead to issues such as poor
sleep mood disorders and even certain
cancers after all we all know that it’s
incredibly difficult to sleep with a
blinding streetlight right outside of
our window but it’s not just humans that
have the circadian rhythm plants and
animals also share this and they depend
on Earth’s daily cycles of light and
dark to survive and the imbalance that
light pollution creates preys on
nocturnal wildlife by radically altering
their nighttime environment as night
skies grow brighter the darkness that
many of these animals used to –
predators quickly fades away
for example baby sea turtles they hatch
at night and find their way to the ocean
but attacking the reflected moonlight
over the water however as cities crawl
until their habitats the artificial
light they produce heaters the
hatchlings away from the ocean and
instead draws them towards the land
where they may be endangered or eaten
these effects on animals could have
potentially devastating outcomes for our
ecosystems by jeopardizing the daily
balance of day and night that many of
these species rely on essentially light
pollution has situated itself at the top
of the food chain today many of the
lights we use serve little to no
function take this photo I took at 11
o’clock at night I’m confident that this
building has some function but surely
not one an hour before midnight few
people in the right mind would be
sacrificing their critical sleep just to
admire this building this useless
application this useless application of
illumination simply allows for more
light to leaking to our nice-guy and
overcome the natural brightness of our
stars of course certain street lamps are
needed though
currently most CDs employ design known
as the drop lens design like the one
shown in this image this design is
flawed because it allows for cities to
leak above the horizontal and into the
night sky additionally there’s nothing
to answer our safety concerns because
it’s the roads that need to be visible
not our sky the alternative is the
flatlands design like the one shown in
this image this design is much better
because it traps light and stops it from
leaking above the horizontal
additionally it could save on energy
costs because the light would only be
needed to illuminate the ground instead
of unnecessarily leaking into the sky
the problem with the solution however is
accessibility I’m sure that not all of
us are civil engineers so another
solution one that’s actually accessible
inspired me to examine the problems of
light pollution firsthand photography a
couple of months ago as I was browsing
Instagram like most teenagers do when
they’re bored I stumbled upon a
photograph by photographer baba to
freshy
one that featured a sky full of little
white stars in a giant milky way
hovering in the night sky at first
glance they took my breath away
I like many didn’t know that it was
possible to see this many celestial
objects in our night sky the photo field
meet and try to photograph the stars at
least while they were still visible
however after many unsuccessful nights I
finally discovered an article depicting
the problem of light pollution and how
the backyard of a house in the city is
hardly the best place to properly see
the stars eventually though I found the
time to drive miles away from Lincoln
and into far darker skies here are some
now photography is evidence it bears
witness to what it captures and provides
a platform for all of us to see the
hidden beauty of our planet and the
universe its unique conservation method
one that’s able to spark conversation
and so an engaging story in just a
matter of seconds photos make people
ponder they challenge the viewer to dig
deeper where was the photo taken or why
was the photo taken photography has the
ability to raise awareness but I’m not
saying that everyone should go and buy
an expensive camera though photography
is a passion of mine one that I use to
bridge the gap between the Arts and
Sciences light pollution is a
multi-faceted problem and I believe that
not only should everyone find something
they’re interested in but also a way to
connected activity to something else
whether it be the environment or simply
another hobby maybe you’re really good a
fictional writing and you should use
that talent to create stories that hint
on issues such as climate change we need
to explore these connections find ties
amongst each other and break down the
polarizing boundaries that try to
separate in short we have to map our own
constellations but instead of using
stars we have to link together our minds
you [Music]
and every one of us knows and it starts
like this twinkle twinkle little star
how I wonder what you are but in only a
matter of years we might have to change
the words to this variable unknown verse
no longer will we be able to ask the
star what you are
instead we’ll be asking the question
where you are because of this current
moment stars are disappearing at an
alarming rate
our night sky today is drastically
different from the one we saw 10 years
ago the brilliancy of stars is slowly
diminishing until their vibrant glow
vanished from sight and with the current
rate at which this takes place there
might not be any stars left in the city
of Lincoln in the next decade to clarify
I’m not here to talk to you about some
newly discovered black hole or starting
force that could potentially devour our
Sun and in turn wipe out all life on
Earth thankfully while the physical
stars that are light-years away will
continue to exist for a millennia our
ability to see them will more or less
disappear if we were to look out at the
night sky tonight here’s we’d most
likely see a sparse array of white dots
if you’re lucky the Big Dipper but
contrary to popular belief the state of
Nebraska is in just entirely corn fields
if we were to drive 40 miles south to a
rural area known as Sterling Nebraska
here’s will be treated to instead now
both photos were taken with the same
camera at the same time of the year and
feature the same portion of the sky yeah
the ladder offers a clearer view of the
Milky Way a spectacle that many people
sadly don’t even know is visible to the
naked eye in fact according to the
National Geographic as of June of 2016
more than 80% of Americans can’t see the
Milky Way from their own backyard this
is because ironically
the lights of our night sky are being
actively snuffed out by lights of our
own creation similar to air and water
pollution light pollution is the
overabundance of Antep Edenic or
man-made light in tonight environment
and it’s the reason why our stars are
fading from view the excess light from
cities leaks into our night sky and
covers natural starlight with a dirty
yellow haze in exchange for modern
urbanization we sacrifice our ability to
see the natural beauty of our night sky
spectacles such as the planet Jupiter
the Orion constellation and even the
entirety of the nearby Andromeda galaxy
will soon disappear it’s a tragedy
because although these phenomena will
continue to exist in our universe they
simply won’t for our eyes here is a map
of light pollution in the United States
it’s like a weather map any colored
region marks an area that is affected or
it’s representing a diagram that it
picks the most interesting places in the
United States
notice how the Midwest is generally gray
but that’s what’s ironic the black and
gray areas are largely unaffected while
blues and greens are mildly polluted and
yellow to red detail is where our
problem is at its worst understandably
urban areas like the eastern half and
the western coast of the United States
experienced the worst of the problem and
prevent millions of people from seeing
what our night sky has to offer
it’s only a matter of time before light
pollution covers the entirety of our map
many people argue today that stars are a
little more than just a mere decoration
but surprisingly
this couldn’t be further from the truth
the absence of a truly dark sky has
potentially dire consequences for
Humanity circadian rhythm also known as
our internal clock operates on a 24-hour
cycle that helps to regulate our sleep
hunger and bodily functions for many
people this means feeling tired at the
right times and sleeping on a regular
schedule that as a high school student
it ensures I sleep sparsely and feel
tired all the time in a 2016
comprehensive of artificial night sky
brightness a group of researchers led by
Fabio Falchi discovered that the
reflection of electric lights in our
atmosphere is sufficient enough to cause
disruption in our body’s natural rhythm
and can lead to issues such as poor
sleep mood disorders and even certain
cancers after all we all know that it’s
incredibly difficult to sleep with a
blinding streetlight right outside of
our window but it’s not just humans that
have the circadian rhythm plants and
animals also share this and they depend
on Earth’s daily cycles of light and
dark to survive and the imbalance that
light pollution creates preys on
nocturnal wildlife by radically altering
their nighttime environment as night
skies grow brighter the darkness that
many of these animals used to –
predators quickly fades away
for example baby sea turtles they hatch
at night and find their way to the ocean
but attacking the reflected moonlight
over the water however as cities crawl
until their habitats the artificial
light they produce heaters the
hatchlings away from the ocean and
instead draws them towards the land
where they may be endangered or eaten
these effects on animals could have
potentially devastating outcomes for our
ecosystems by jeopardizing the daily
balance of day and night that many of
these species rely on essentially light
pollution has situated itself at the top
of the food chain today many of the
lights we use serve little to no
function take this photo I took at 11
o’clock at night I’m confident that this
building has some function but surely
not one an hour before midnight few
people in the right mind would be
sacrificing their critical sleep just to
admire this building this useless
application this useless application of
illumination simply allows for more
light to leaking to our nice-guy and
overcome the natural brightness of our
stars of course certain street lamps are
needed though
currently most CDs employ design known
as the drop lens design like the one
shown in this image this design is
flawed because it allows for cities to
leak above the horizontal and into the
night sky additionally there’s nothing
to answer our safety concerns because
it’s the roads that need to be visible
not our sky the alternative is the
flatlands design like the one shown in
this image this design is much better
because it traps light and stops it from
leaking above the horizontal
additionally it could save on energy
costs because the light would only be
needed to illuminate the ground instead
of unnecessarily leaking into the sky
the problem with the solution however is
accessibility I’m sure that not all of
us are civil engineers so another
solution one that’s actually accessible
inspired me to examine the problems of
light pollution firsthand photography a
couple of months ago as I was browsing
Instagram like most teenagers do when
they’re bored I stumbled upon a
photograph by photographer baba to
freshy
one that featured a sky full of little
white stars in a giant milky way
hovering in the night sky at first
glance they took my breath away
I like many didn’t know that it was
possible to see this many celestial
objects in our night sky the photo field
meet and try to photograph the stars at
least while they were still visible
however after many unsuccessful nights I
finally discovered an article depicting
the problem of light pollution and how
the backyard of a house in the city is
hardly the best place to properly see
the stars eventually though I found the
time to drive miles away from Lincoln
and into far darker skies here are some
now photography is evidence it bears
witness to what it captures and provides
a platform for all of us to see the
hidden beauty of our planet and the
universe its unique conservation method
one that’s able to spark conversation
and so an engaging story in just a
matter of seconds photos make people
ponder they challenge the viewer to dig
deeper where was the photo taken or why
was the photo taken photography has the
ability to raise awareness but I’m not
saying that everyone should go and buy
an expensive camera though photography
is a passion of mine one that I use to
bridge the gap between the Arts and
Sciences light pollution is a
multi-faceted problem and I believe that
not only should everyone find something
they’re interested in but also a way to
connected activity to something else
whether it be the environment or simply
another hobby maybe you’re really good a
fictional writing and you should use
that talent to create stories that hint
on issues such as climate change we need
to explore these connections find ties
amongst each other and break down the
polarizing boundaries that try to
separate in short we have to map our own
constellations but instead of using
stars we have to link together our minds
you [Music]
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