Cities needlessly shine billions of dollars directly into the sky each year and, as a result; a fifth of the world’s population cannot see the Milky Way. Malcolm Smith explains why a dark sky has much to offer everyone. Over the past six decades, professional and amateur astronomers have been pioneering efforts to curb light pollution to protect the viability of their observatories. During the 2009 International Year of Astronomy, particularly through the Dark Skies Awareness project1, astronomers can find allies in a common cause to convince authorities and the public that a dark sky is a valuable resource for everyone.
Malcolm Smith
Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory, Casilla 603, La Serena, Chile.
Email: msmith@ctio.noao.edu
Nature 457, 27 (1 January 2009) (za cjeloviti tekst potrebna je pretplata)
