One-third of the world cannot see the Milky Way -- why that matters
"If you look up at the evening sky, there's a good chance you will not be able to see what your grandmother saw when she was a little girl.
That's because we're enshrouded in an artificial haze of light that is blocking the night sky, a phenomenon scientists call light pollution.
Scientists believe one-third of humanity cannot view the Milky Way — this includes 80% of Americans and 60% of Europeans because city lights are creating fogs of light pollution, according to a new study that published Friday in the journal of Science Advances.
An international team of scientists created a world atlas of artificial sky luminance that details how light pollution is permeating our planet. This light is obscuring our vision of the stars, celestial events and the Milky Way — the galaxy that contains our solar system.
Although there are a few patches of pristine dark sky still left in the world, 83% of the world's population and more than 99% of the U.S. and European populations live under the bright glow of light pollution.
"This is a huge cultural loss with unforeseeable consequences in the future generations," scientist Fabio Falchi, one of the authors of the study, says. "Pristine night skies are a precious merchandise."
http://www.cnn.com/2016/06/11/health/light-pollution-atlas-milky-way-irpt/
I remember going camping as a kid with there not being light for miles. Looking up at night always blew me away!
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when I went on a long road trip once, and camped at Chiricahua National Park, I was so startled by the clarity and 3-D of the night sky, I actually let out a loud GASP!
