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Abstract

The existence of extensive records for the impact of night sky brightness on the animals’ behavior in their natural environment shows the need to investigate the level of artificially induced night sky glow (light pollution) in the protected areas.

The results of multi-night sky brightness measurements carried out at the selected sites in Polish mountain areas under various atmospheric conditions are presented. Conducted measurements show a strong impact of the artificial sky glow on the night sky brightness, which is the essence of light pollution. The influence of both distant urban centers, as well as local tourist resorts on the size of studied phenomenon in the mountain areas, which causes both ecological and touristic degradation of these areas was stated. In a few studied areas the level of night sky brightness greatly exceeds the natural one and is comparable to such levels measured inside the cities. It was found that only the southern part of the Polish Carpathians can be considered an area free of light pollution.

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Authors and Affiliations

Wiesław Kaszowski
Tomasz Ściężor
Marek Kubala
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Abstract

Light pollution has a detrimental effect on astronomy. Artificial light emitted from outdoor lighting increases the brightness of the night sky, making it difficult to observe astronomical objects. The spectral power distribution of artificial light sources is one of the key factors determining how much the night sky is deteriorated by light pollution. The ongoing replacement of discharge lamps with LED sources may have a major impact on astronomy because LED spectra usually cover the entire visible radiation range. This paper provides an analysis of the impact of LED sources with correlated color temperature in the range from 1000 K to approximately 10 000 K on visual and instrumental astronomical observations. For each analyzed artificial source, the Starlight Contamination Degree (SCD) index, i.e. a quantity that allows for quick evaluation of the impact of the sources on the night sky, is calculated. The reflection of artificial light from different ground surfaces and its scattering in the atmosphere was included in the calculation of the SCD index. LED lamps with very low values of correlated color temperature (CCT) and color rendering index (CRI) were found to possibly have a similar or even smaller impact on astronomical observations than sodium discharge lamps. Moreover, professional astronomical observations are more affected by LED lamps than visual observations, even for lamps with the lowest CCT and CRI. Thus, additional measures (e.g. reducing lumen output) should be applied to protect observational conditions. The results of the study help to assess which LED lamps can be used, and which should be avoided in the protection zones around astronomical observing sites.
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Authors and Affiliations

Przemysław Tabaka
1
ORCID: ORCID
Sylwester Kołomański
2

  1. Institute of Electrical Power Engineering, Lodz University of Technology, Lodz, Poland
  2. Astronomical Institute, University of Wrocław, Wrocław, Poland

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