Stella Maris' Quest: Keep the night sky at its best
Did you know that 70% of mammals and 60% of all animals on earth are nocturnal? This is one of the many reasons why having a dark night sky free of light pollution is so important! As communities grow and urbanization expands, there's more artificial lighting polluting our night. It's a problem that is impacting our valuable local ecosystems, which is why we believe educating the public and getting them involved is important! We want to help people understand how lighting practices impacts backyard wildlife and what they can do to help.
Light pollution affects plants and critters alike, including insects, birds, reptiles, and fish. Many of these animals depend on a dark sky to find food sources, know when to breed, and navigate. Over 200 different bird species have migration patterns at night, and when the sky isn't dark, they become disoriented and collide.
Dark skies are also super important for astronomers and to allow us to study space. If it's too bright here on Earth, telescopes won't work as well because of the surrounding light. That means it also impacts recreational viewing and how many stars/planets YOU can see with your naked eye.
Did you know sea turtles are sensitive to artificial lighting when they're hatchlings? Hatchlings will travel under the cover of the night towards the brightest light. For thousands of years, that was the moon's reflection on the ocean, allowing them to find their way to the water. However, if there's light pollution coming from sources other than the moon, such as street lights and home lighting, they will begin to travel towards the other light and get lost. This is how they end up on roads and in swimming pools. Light pollution impacts their trajectory to the ocean. And that includes red lights!
Adult female sea turtles are also sensitive to artificial lighting! Under the night's guise, they will crawl ashore to find the perfect spot to lay their eggs. First, they will make sure the area seems safe, meaning there's no possible predators around. Sea turtles can be very easily scared, that's why it's important we don't make loud noises near them and we keep our distance. Female sea turtles searching for the perfect spot can also frightened by light. They want to be less visible, coming back to the potential predators in the area.
Join us in our quest and check out a photometer from us today!
Light pollution affects plants and critters alike, including insects, birds, reptiles, and fish. Many of these animals depend on a dark sky to find food sources, know when to breed, and navigate. Over 200 different bird species have migration patterns at night, and when the sky isn't dark, they become disoriented and collide.
Dark skies are also super important for astronomers and to allow us to study space. If it's too bright here on Earth, telescopes won't work as well because of the surrounding light. That means it also impacts recreational viewing and how many stars/planets YOU can see with your naked eye.
Did you know sea turtles are sensitive to artificial lighting when they're hatchlings? Hatchlings will travel under the cover of the night towards the brightest light. For thousands of years, that was the moon's reflection on the ocean, allowing them to find their way to the water. However, if there's light pollution coming from sources other than the moon, such as street lights and home lighting, they will begin to travel towards the other light and get lost. This is how they end up on roads and in swimming pools. Light pollution impacts their trajectory to the ocean. And that includes red lights!
Adult female sea turtles are also sensitive to artificial lighting! Under the night's guise, they will crawl ashore to find the perfect spot to lay their eggs. First, they will make sure the area seems safe, meaning there's no possible predators around. Sea turtles can be very easily scared, that's why it's important we don't make loud noises near them and we keep our distance. Female sea turtles searching for the perfect spot can also frightened by light. They want to be less visible, coming back to the potential predators in the area.
Join us in our quest and check out a photometer from us today!