Saving the starry night : light pollution and its effects on science, culture and nature / Patrizia Caraveo.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Caraveo, Patrizia, 1954- author.

Standardized Title:

Il cielo è di tutti. English

Language:

English

Italian

Subjects (All):

Light pollution.

Genre:

Electronic books.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (ix, 165 pages) : illustrations (some color)

Place of Publication:

Cham, Switzerland : Springer, 2021.

System Details:

text file

Summary:

This book takes a close look at our relationship with the sky, the stars, light and darkness. In particular, it examines how light pollution has interfered with the culture of astronomy and our ability to appreciate this essential facet of our natural world. The sky has always held significance for humanity, in both cultural and scientific terms. And yet we persistently pollute it with (sometimes unnecessary) light in our obsessive desire to chase away the darkness. This effectively switches off the stars, hampering our ability to enjoy one of the most inspiring sights nature has to offer to humankind. In addition, too much light is hazardous to both our health and that of the fauna and flora of this planet. This book also features a comprehensive look at the current controversy regarding efforts to expand internet access through the launch into low Earth orbits of thousands of new satellites, which will pollute the night with moving lights while filling to saturation the capability of the circumterrestrial space. This conflict does not mean that the interests of astronomy and those of space technology have to be at odds, and potential compromises are explored between the satellite initiative and the desire to maintain a dark, radio silent sky.

Contents:

Chapter 1 - The sky as a cultural heritage

Chapter 2 - The fascination of light - And that of darkness

Chapter 3 - Earth at Night

Chapter 4 - Artificial lights as a health hazard

Chapter 5 - Artificial lights' impact on flora and fauna

Chapter 6 - How do we measure the sky darkness?.-Chapter 7 - What can we do?

Chapter 8 - Searching of the darkest places

Chapter 9 - Full immersion in the radio waves

Chapter 10 - A sky full of satellites

Chapter 11 - Who gave permission?

Chapter 12 - Proposals to mitigate adverse impact.

Notes:

Online resource; title from PDF title page (SpringerLink, viewed November 19, 2021).

Other Format:

Print version: Caraveo, Patrizia Saving the Starry Night

ISBN:

9783030850647

3030850641

OCLC:

1285714276

Access Restriction:

Restricted for use by site license.