Children born today may not see the stars at night when they turn 18

Light pollution in Rio beach at night. Image Credit: P.bajelan/Wikipedia The artificial glow of the night sky is commonly known as skyglow, and it represents a growing form of light pollution that is changing the way humans view the natural world. Researchers have been tracking this phenomenon for a long time using satellite technology, but a comprehensive study published in the journal ‘Science’ reveals that the nights are getting brighter more rapidly than the instruments suggested initially.Between 2011 and 2022, thousands of volunteers across the world participated in a massive data collection effort, where they reported that the stars are vanishing from view very quickly. This research indicates that the night sky is brightening by an average of 9.6% each year, which is a speed that doubles the background light of the sky every eight years. Because of this, the young generation is looking at a future where the celestial beauty is erased by a man-made twilight.Night Sky is rapidly getting brighter due to light pollutionThe findings of this decade-long project suggest that the loss of a star-filled sky is happening much faster than earlier estimated. On average, the global night...