[Darksky]Night Sky Brightness atlas (fwd)

[Jan Hollan <jhollan@amper....muni.cz>]

The article at cnn.com is worth reading...

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Wed, 8 Aug 2001 06:52:37 -0700 (PDT)
From: Phobos <phobos042@yahoo...>
To: Lew Gramer <dedalus@latrade...>, nelpag@harvee....ma.us
Subject: Re: [Nelpag] Fwd: Night Sky Brightness atlas

Related article from CNN.com...
http://www.cnn.com/2001/TECH/space/08/08/starless.nights.ap/index.html

Jim R.

--- Lew Gramer <dedalus@latrade...> wrote:
> 
> This came over the Project ASTRO-Boston mailing list
> just now.
> 
> Lew Gramer
> 
> 
> ------- Forwarded Message
> 
> Date: Tue, 7 Aug 2001 15:48:34 -0400 (EDT)
> From: kashyap@head-cfa....edu
> To: project_astro@head-cfa....edu
> Subject: Night Sky Brightness
> 
> This came through in a recent astro-ph preprint. I
> think many
> people on this list would be interested in it.   
> -Vinay
> 
>
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Paper: astro-ph/0108052
> From: "Pierantonio Cinzano"
> <cinzano@inquinamentoluminoso...>
> Date: Fri, 3 Aug 2001 01:09:49 GMT   (526kb)
 
> Title: The first world atlas of the artificial night sky brightness

> Authors: P. Cinzano (1), F. Falchi (1), C. D. Elvidge (2) ((1)
> Dipartimento di Astronomia, Padova, Italy, (2) Office of the Director,
> NOAA National Geophysical Data Center, Boulder, CO)

> Comments: 24 pages, 11 size-reduced PostScript figures, 3 statistical
> tables, accepted for publication in Monthly Notices of the Royal
> Astronomical Society, high-resolution original maps will be available
> soon from http://www.lightpollution.it/dmsp/ as zipped TIFF files

>   We present the first World Atlas of the zenith artificial night sky
> brightness at sea level. Based on radiance calibrated high resolution
> DMSP satellite data and on accurate modelling of light propagation in
> the atmosphere, it provides a nearly global picture of how mankind is
> proceeding to envelope itself in a luminous fog. Comparing the Atlas
> with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) population density database
> we determined the fraction of population who are living under a sky of
> given brightness. About two thirds of the World population and 99% of
> the population in US (excluding Alaska and Hawaii) and EU live in
> areas where the night sky is above the threshold set for polluted
> status. Assuming average eye functionality, about one fifth of the
> World population, more than two thirds of the US population and more
> than one half of the EU population have already lost naked eye
> visibility of the Milky Way. Finally, about one tenth of the World
> population, more than 40% of the US population and one sixth of the EU
> population no longer view the heavens with the eye adapted to night
> vision because the sky brightness. 
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> 
> ------- End of Forwarded Message
> 
> 
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