Light pollution

12.00.00am UTC (GMT +0000) Tue 14th Mar 2006

Once Britons were inspired by the incredible sight of the the night sky

Once Britons were inspired by the incredible sight of the the night sky but this is now invisible as a result of light pollution. The orange glow of much outdated street lighting and the illumination of public buildings has hidden this breath taking vista and we now must travel to other parts of the world to see what we have lost. A whole generation has grown up with no view of the night sky from home.

Astronomers, led by Sir Patrick Moore, have successfully campaigned against this outrage and a new law comes into effect in April. When granting planning permission for any development local authorities will have to ensure that outdoor lighting does not add to light pollution. This applies to shopping centres, sports facilities, housing and offices. Modern street lights are already designed to minimise the amount of light going upwards but thousands of older lamps burn every night.

Many famous buildings and monuments have floodlighting with lamps at ground level pointing upwards. They will now come under pressure to install smaller high level lights that will eliminate light haemorrhaging into the night sky.