Before the advent of electric lighting, Earth’s inhabitants were treated to a nightly display of illumination from the Milky Way galaxy. The brilliant wash of stars splashed across the night sky provided dazzling inspiration for the early Egyptians, who likened it to a “pool of cow’s milk,” and for the Hindu poets, who saw the mass of stars as a dolphin swimming through the sky. However, nightly viewings of our galaxy have largely become a thing of the past, as light pollution now obscures the Milky Way from 80 percent of Americans, and one-third of the world’s population as a whole.
Back when the stars came out at night:
Research by Italian and American scientists — published in the journal Science Advances in 2016 — produced the most accurate assessment yet of the global impact of light pollution.
“We’ve got whole generations of people in the U.S. who have never seen the Milky Way,” said scientist Chris Elvidge. “It’s a big part of our connection to the cosmos, and it’s been lost.”
Light pollution is extensive in countries such as Singapore, Italy, and South Korea. Canada and Australia still have relatively extensive “dark sky” areas.