A night for stargazing

The plan is that the AIA ask all Portuguese local authorities to partially dim their street lights for an hour on the night of 18th July. Called «Noite de Estrelas» (Night of the Stars), the objective is to alert people to the hazards of ‘light pollution’ – a problem that’s still relatively unappreciated by the public at large.

According to Pedro Ré, coordinator of the initiative, this form of pollution – which often passes unnoticed by those who live in towns and cities – “is linked to the poor quality of public street lighting”. Here, there and everywhere, apparently, there are street lamps and projectors that emit light badly, or to no useful effect – because they’ve been badly conceived or incorrectly installed.

A common example of this ineffective lighting are “the globes which light upwards, and to the sides, but not downwards”. Indeed, the public street lighting network is already technologically obsolete – squandering light, limiting drivers’ and pedestrians’ night vision and frequently disturbing the sleep and natural life cycle of nocturnal animals.