Related papers: Light pollution is skyrocketing
A long-standing and profound problem in astronomy is the difficulty in obtaining deep near-infrared observations due to the extreme brightness and variability of the night sky at these wavelengths. A solution to this problem is crucial if…
The recent observation by the PAMELA satellite of a rising positron fraction up to $\sim$ 100 GeV has triggered a considerable amount of putative interpretations in terms of dark matter (DM) annihilation or decay. Here, we make a critical…
There is debate about which indicators should currently be used to monitor levels of artificial light pollution. To be most valuable, methods need to be sensitive to variation in the spectral composition of light emissions (which are…
Progress in observational cosmology over the past five years has established that the Universe is dominated dynamically by dark matter and dark energy. Both these new and apparently independent forms of matter-energy have properties that…
It is well established in the local Universe that regions of high star-formation rate are dusty. As a result of this physical causal link, galaxies of increasing current star formation activity emit a larger proportion of their bolometric…
The impact of large-scale constellations of satellites, is a concern for ground-based astronomers. In recent years there has been a significant increase in the number of satellites in Low-Earth Orbit and this trend is set to continue. The…
Dust is a ubiquitous component in our Galaxy. It accounts for only $1\%$ mass of the ISM but still is an essential part of the Galaxy. It affects our view of the Galaxy by obscuring the starlight at shorter wavelengths and re-emitting in…
Marine plastic pollution is an emerging environmental problem since it pollutes the ocean, air and food whilst endangering the ocean wildlife via the ingestion and entanglements. During the last decade, an enormous effort has been spent on…
Over the last decades, light-emitting diodes (LED) have replaced common light bulbs in almost every application, from flashlights in smartphones to automotive headlights. Illuminating nightly streets requires LEDs to emit a light spectrum…
For the majority of optical observing programs, the sky brightness provides the fundamental limit to signal detection such that the scientific feasibility is largely dictated by the moon phase. Since most observatories do not have the…
If stars at the lower end of the main sequence are responsible for the microlensing events observed in the Galactic bulge, then light from the lensing star contributes to the observed brightness. The background and lensing stars generally…
Recent results have shown that a substantial fraction of high-redshift Lyman alpha galaxies contain considerable amounts of dust. This implies that Lyman alpha galaxies are not primordial, as has been thought in the past. However, this dust…
Thousands of active artificial objects are orbiting around Earth along with much more non-operational ones -- derelict satellites or rocket bodies, collision debris, or spacecraft payloads, significant part of them being uncatalogued. They…
The long-awaited promise of studying high-redshift galaxies at long wavelengths has been partially eclipsed by progress at optical wavelengths, mostly because of the number of available pixels. It is nonetheless essential to study optically…
The effect of satellite constellations on observations in the visible and IR domains is estimated, considering 18 constellations in development by SpaceX, Amazon, OneWeb, and others, with over 26,000 satellites, constituting a…
Fifty years after the first mention of light pollution in Science, the journal recently elevated this topic to the cover of its 16 June 2023 issue, highlighting the large impact on human and ecological health, circadian rhythms, migratory…
Artificial skyglow is dynamic due to changing atmospheric conditions and the switching on and off of artificial lights throughout the night. Street lights as well as the ornamental illumination of historical sites and buildings are…
The number of small satellites has grown dramatically in the past decade from tens of satellites per year in the mid-2010s to a projection of tens of thousands in orbit by the mid-2020s. This presents both problems and opportunities for…
Existing and planned optical telescopes and surveys can detect artificially-illuminated objects comparable in total brightness to a major terrestrial city out to the outskirts of the Solar System. Orbital parameters of Kuiper belt objects…
In this paper we analyse the measurements of the brightness of the night sky above the CMO SAI MSU in the visible and near-infrared range made in 2019-2014. In 2023-2024 the median zenith brightness of the moonless night sky was 21.31 mag…