Throughout his 30 years of volunteer service with the Telus World of Science Edmonton’s Public Observatory, Bruce McCurdy has witnessed stars disappear from the night sky – washed out by an ever-growing fog of artificial light.
The local chair of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada’s light pollution abatement committee estimates star visibility has worsened by at least a half magnitude (a measure of celestial brightness) since he has been studying the issue.
“We’re talking about losing close to half the visible stars in the sky,” said McCurdy.
Light pollution, caused by inappropriate or excessive use of artificial light, has become such a problem that a new study published in June by Science Advances, reports the Milky Way is hidden from 80 per cent of North Americans and one-third of all humanity.
“The sky just keeps getting greyer and greyer,” said McCurdy.
Canada, despite having large expanses of pristine skies, is not immune to this global trend.
In fact, the country is among the top 20 most light-polluted countries in the world based on population. Less than one per cent of Canadians have access to dark skies – nighttime environments completely devoid of competing light sources.
The country, however, is also at the forefront of protecting the night sky, through the establishment of dark sky preserves – places where artificial light is completely eliminated and measures are taken to educate the public about the effects of light pollution.
Three of these dark sky preserves exist in Alberta alone, as does the country’s only Dark Sky Community.
The Town of Bon Accord received the designation from the International Dark-Sky Association (IDA) in August of last year.
Former economic development officer and amateur astronomist Patrick Earl initiated the 112-page, 10-step application as a way to put the rural town on the map.
“The town hadn’t seen any real growth in 30 years,” said Earl, who now works for Kneehill County. “Even being a bedroom community for the capital region, there was no services attraction, it was pretty much just a rural residential area.”
When Earl moved to Bon Accord in 2012, he was surprised by the quality of the night sky despite the community’s proximity to Edmonton. This led to a rebranding of the town with a focus on astronomical tourism. A business case was even completed for a public observatory, housed within a multi-use facility with an expanded library and surrounded by a business park. But with an $11-million price tag the project has been put on hold while the town applies for grant money.
As part of its application to the International Dark-Sky Association, the town committed to a complete retrofit of all municipally owned lighting to full cutoff luminaries, and established a bylaw that will limit the output of residential and commercial lighting within the town by 2023.
Light pollution is a side effect of urbanized and industrialized society. But much outdoor lighting is inefficient, overly bright, poorly targeted, improperly shielded, or, at times, completely unnecessary.
McCurdy hopes that other communities will turn to Bon Accord’s outdoor lighting policies – one of the most progressive and comprehensive in the country –as a guide to reduce the effects of artificial light.
In addition to not being able to access the night sky, constantly lit environments wreak havoc on both humans and wildlife, Edmonton-based documentary filmmaker Brandy Yanchyk learned while filming her latest project Ambassadors of the Sky.
Some studies have found that light pollution can disrupt the migration patterns of birds and increase the risk of cancer in humans. Exposure to blue light at night disrupts the body’s replenishment of melatonin – the neurotransmitter responsible for regulating sleep patterns. This can lead to a number of health issues, including cancer and obesity.
“The first thing I did was buy black out curtains,” said Yanchyk. “I take them very seriously and I make sure there isn’t any light pollution in my room.”
“If there’s anything that’s glowing or giving off blue light, I’ll cover it.”
Bon Accord is the first Dark Sky Community in Canada and 11th in the world. The designation will be celebrated Saturday Sept. 24, the fifth annual Equinox festival.
Special guest speaker Colonel Chris Hadfield will be present to mark the occasion.
“We didn’t have a lot of time to ramp it up (last year),” said Karyn Hurlbut, community services manager for the town.
McCurdy, who visited Bon Accord during last year’s Equinox, was impressed by the town’s new full cutoff lighting system, though he doesn’t remember seeing the Milky Way.
That’s most likely due to the waxing moon, which rose earlier in the evening. Even a slim moon can lighten the sky enough to drown out the stars.
The true test will come with Saturday’s event. This year’s moon will be in its last quarter and shouldn’t appear until after midnight, said McCurdy.
According to Kaleigh McLagan, co-president for the Undergraduate Astrophysics and Astronomy Students Society, Equinox-goers should also be able to see Jupiter and Uranus.
The University of Alberta club will be running sidewalk astronomy (5 p.m. to 11 p.m.) for the first time.
“What’s really interesting about Bon Accord is that it’s a dark sky designated community,” said McLagan. “The night sky is going to be really clear and the stars that we’ll be seeing out there are going to be way more numerous than anything you can see in the city.”
Equinox 2016 will take place on Saturday, Sept. 24 from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. at the Bon Accord Community School. Keynote speaker Col. Chris Hadfield will take the stage at 7 p.m.
