The map uses nasa black marble viirs, world atlas 2015, aurora prediction, observatories, clouds and sqm/sqc overlay contributed by users. Why is light pollution important Light pollution limits the visibility of milky way to the unaided eye, the visiblity of nebulae and galaxies seen in telescopes, and raises the noise on ccd astrophotographs Only the observation of planets and double stars is unaffected Low light pollution conditions, or dark skies, is one of the most important properties of a good astronmical observing site. This interactive map shows the worldwide artificial night sky brightness at zenith (looking straight up) at sea level
The techniques used to calculate this data are important as they quantify night sky pollution levels, allowing us to monitor how the levels vary over time The method, which involves taking measurements from a satellite orbiting the earth, is described in detail in this.
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