Dark Sky UNESCO - International 

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​Manuel de la Fuente
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At the social and cultural level it can be mentioned that the excess and poor quality of the exterior lighting have important consequences and that they should not be ignored; as the modification (disappearance) of the nocturnal natural landscape. The darkness of the night must be preserved according to the universal declaration of the rights of future generations of UNESCO: "People of future generations have the right to an undamaged, undamaged land, including the right to a pure sky". More recently in the "Declaration on the Defense of the Night Sky and the Right to the Light of the Stars," La Palma, April 20, 2007, states: "The right to a clear night sky and the ability to observe the sky it should be considered as a right comparable to the rest of environmental, social and cultural rights, taking into account its impact on the development of peoples and on the conservation of biodiversity ".

Another aspect is the so-called "intrusive light", that is, the unwanted light from the outside that enters our homes due to the use of inadequate lighting or by posters or billboards. The effects of this intrusion on privacy have important consequences of a psychological nature. The current conditions of light pollution have a great impact on astrophysical research programs and on the planning of the astronomical observatories' sites.

Since the promulgation of the "Declaration on the Defense of the Night Sky and the Right to Light of the Stars" in 2007 in all the regulations that have been created at the level of municipalities in European, Asian and American countries, for To regulate the exterior lighting of public spaces, a chapter referring to light pollution has been incorporated. These regulations have the following areas of action:

Urban lighting: (urban centers of cities): cities or large or very large population centers. Includes the lighting of streets and roads for vehicles, pedestrians, squares, parks, housing developments located in the urban core, etc.
Lighting of urban centers of towns: nuclei of medium or low settlement. These spaces generate problems and situations similar to the previous section but of smaller scale.
Lighting residential areas: this is urbanizations and non-urban population centers. Although by affiliation they will be inserted in some main municipality, their characteristics (distance of urban nuclei
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Dark Sky & Light Pollution - Learning Objectives

1. Why Dark Sky and Light Pollution
2. What are Dark Sky Lights?
3. How to support Dark Sky?

When we use carefully aimed, dimmer lights - instead of excessively bright, glaring ones - we can see better, maybe even see the stars.  Balance and restraint is the key to most things in life, and restraint also applies to lighting, especially in our night sky.
Visit my Dark Sky page at TOlighting.com

On the Hunt for Stars:
In Search of a Truly Dark Night Sky

How hard can it be to see the Milky Way? Read this article by Heather Smith and follow her journey to see the night sky. [1]  https://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/2018-2-march-april/feature/hunt-for-stars-dark-skies-preserves-and-parks

Visit Dark Sky Reserves to find places you can go to stargaze.

What is Dark Sky and why is it important?

How could the sky at night be anything other than dark? It seems like an easy question, until you look up and try to see the Milky Way in or near a large city.

If you want to see stars, you need a dark scene free from overhead lights and free from light pollution.

Light Pollution is the name for any light that is unwanted or uncontrolled showering wasted light into the sky. Reflected light from pavement and buildings is also contributing to light pollution.

Direct Glare from unshielded light sources reduces visibility in addition to requiring your eyes to adapt between bright and dark scenes, especially difficult for seniors and those with visual impairments. As we age the time it takes for our eyes to adapt from bright to dark, or dark to light, increases.; therefore, illumination without direct glare from seeing the light source is preferred.

Dark Sky Lighting Fixtures
Luminaire Shielding Designs

This illustration shows the many types of outdoor lighting fixture designs that shield the light on the top and sides. This type of luminaire  is considered 'dark sky friendly.' to find a list of International DarkSky Association (IDA) approved fixtures visit their website. http://www.darksky.org/www.darksky.org/

How to support Dark Sky?

International Dark Sky Organization www.darksky.org
Find a chapter near you and learn more.

Become a citizen-scientists to measure & submit your night sky brightness observations.

https://www.globeatnight.org/   In 2017 citizen scientists from around the world contributed 15,382  data points.   Globe at Night is a program of the National Optical Astronomy Observatory, the national center for ground-based nighttime astronomy in the United States, operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA), under cooperative agreement with the National Science Foundation.
https://www.globeatnight.org/

Be sure to read the article about Davis LED Retrofit Zombie Lights, By James Benya

Related Topics

Dark Sky Reserves, Dark Sky Ordinances,  Dark Sky & the Ecology of Night Lighting,   Astronomy & Dark Sky,  Circadian System

Footnotes

1. Sierra Club https://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/2018-2-march-april/feature/hunt-for-stars-dark-skies-preserves-and-parks
   

Photo Credit

• With Permission - ANCIENT BRISTLECONE FOREST | PHOTO BY HARUN MEHMEDINOVIC - to purchase his dark sky books and videos visit  https://skyglowproject.com/
• Luminaire Shielding Designs
  Image courtesy of Bob Crelin