Light pollution could make stars disappear from the night sky within 20 years, scientists have warned

CTOnews.com, May 29 (Xinhua)-- scientists have warned that stars may disappear from the night sky within 20 years due to light pollution, the Guardian reported.

In 2016, astronomers reported that 1/3 of humans could no longer see the Milky way, and light pollution worsened since then. It is estimated that at the current rate, most of the major constellations will be unrecognizable within 20 years, and the cultural and scientific losses will be huge.

Light pollution is now causing the night sky to brighten by about 10% a year, scientists say. Christopher Kaiba of the German Geoscience Center revealed that a child born tonight who can see 250 stars can only see about 100 stars by the age of 18.

Although light pollution has been a long-standing problem for half a century, the latest outbreak of the problem can be attributed to the increased use of light-emitting diodes (LED) and other forms of intense night lighting. CTOnews.com noticed that in addition to losing our stars, light pollution has also caused a variety of harm to the ecological environment. In 2019, scientists found that light pollution is leading to "insect extinction"-light has a significant impact on the activity of insect species, finding food, reproducing, growing and avoiding predators. Light pollution can also confuse sea turtles and migratory birds because they are guided by moonlight and light pollution makes them lose their way.

However, there may be a simple solution to light pollution. A report released in 2020 outlined several policies that would help to reduce lighting, including the appointment of a dark sky minister, the establishment of a dark sky committee, and the establishment of strict standards for the density and direction of lighting.