More stars disappear from our view each year

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2023-01-20 10:09

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A child born in a region where 250 stars were visible at their birth would only be able to see 100 from the same spot by the time they turned 18, according to international research on how quickly light pollution is hiding the stars. The researchers analysed data from a citizen science project where participants recorded how many stars they could see from their vantage point over a 10-year period. They say each year, the decrease in visible stars reported was equivalent to a near 10% increase in sky brightness, and because of the importance of maintaining natural daily cycles for both humans and nature, the researchers say more needs to be done to address light pollution.