This article is about night sky luminance from artificial light. For the natural atmospheric phenomenon, see airglow. For the interplanetary phenomenon, see zodiacal light. For the wider environmental impacts of artificial light, see light pollution.
Skyglow (or sky glow) is the diffuse luminance of the night sky, apart from discrete light sources such as the Moon and visible individual stars. It is a commonly noticed aspect of light pollution. While usually referring to luminance arising from artificial lighting, skyglow may also involve any scattered light seen at night, including natural ones like starlight, zodiacal light, and airglow.[1][2]
In the context of light pollution, skyglow arises from the use of artificial light sources, including electrical (or rarely gas) lighting used for illumination and advertisement and from gas flares.[3] Light propagating into the atmosphere directly from upward-directed or incompletely shielded sources, or after reflection from the ground or other surfaces, is partially scattered back toward the ground, producing a diffuse glow that is visible from great distances. Skyglow from artificial lights is most often noticed as a glowing dome of light over cities and towns, yet is pervasive throughout the developed world.
^Roach, Franklin E. & Gordon, Janet L. (1973). The Light of the Night Sky. Dordrecht and Boston, Massachusetts: D. Reidel.
^Flanders, Tony (December 5, 2008). "Rate Your Skyglow". Sky & Telescope. AAS Sky Publishing. Retrieved 2020-02-26.
^Guerin, Emily (5 November 2015). "Oil Boom Means Sky Watchers Hoping for Starlight Just Get Stars, Lite". NPR. Retrieved 2016-04-24.
Skyglow (or sky glow) is the diffuse luminance of the night sky, apart from discrete light sources such as the Moon and visible individual stars. It is...
SKYGLOW is an ongoing crowdfunded project exploring light pollution and its impact on cities, as well as North America's endangered dark-sky locations...
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Senator Joel Anderson. In 2015, Heffernan and Harun Mehmedinovic co-founded SKYGLOW, a crowdfunded book and Blu Ray project to tackle the rising danger and...
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as nominal conditions. Night sky Airglow Zodiacal light Light pollution Skyglow F. Patat. "The Brightness of the Night Sky". ESO. Retrieved 2015-11-27...
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cultural and economic reasons for concern about excessive light at night. Skyglow prevents large fractions of the Earth's population from viewing the Milky...
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The Annenberg Space for Photography SKYGLOW event at The Annenberg Photo Space in Los Angeles Established March 2009 (2009-03) Dissolved June 2020 (2020-06)...
years ago, much earlier than thought before. Researchers report that the skyglow of STEVE ("Strong Thermal Emission Velocity Enhancement"), an atmospheric...
directly next to streetlights and lit buildings, but the diffuse light of skyglow can extend out to hundreds of kilometers away from city centres. The axial...