Don't be afraid of the dark. Go enjoy it! And keep looking up. Visit https://www.darksky.org/ to learn more Let me know how what you thought of this episode. I'm on Twitter and Instagram at @DrJoeHanson and @okaytobesmart

This video is given me major deja Vu and I'm not sure you upload this before or I just saw video like it years ago

I had to rewind 4-5 times at 01:59, to get it right: "...unless near the North or South pole in the summer time..." It was a bit deeper, and by that harder to me to get it right, not on my native language.... THX for the experience :)

Hey I live not to far from the Big Bend National Park

Stellarium rocks! And it's licensed under GNU public license. Free to use, share, and modify. Props to the creators.

Thanks for this awesome episode. As an amateur astronomer, I think it's extremely important that people like you promote this and educate the public. It's really awe inspiring to see a truly dark sky... One thing that I'd wish you'd have touched on were LED lights. It's one of the things that are become more and more common and it's going to make it harder for amateurs like me to image the sky at night. I live in a fairly light polluted place, but I'm able to take really nice images of the night sky by using narrow-band filters (Hydrogen Alpha emissions, Oxygen, Sulfur, etc). These filters work wonders on Sodium or Mercury lamps because these lamps don't put out a continuous spectrum of light. LEDs on the other hand, do ... This means essentially the end of amateur astronomers in cities ... If you could do a second part on this, it would be amazing. There's more to this than just imagery...LEDs also impact circadian rhythms of plants, in a way that Sodium lamps, do not.

Light pollution is so annoying. Even in suburbs it’s hard to see stars.

I actually don't remember trying to see the night sky. It's there, I just rarely think about it

I love astronomy so in the future I plan to move to states like New Mexico or Montana were the night sky is lit up like a starry night.

A punch in the face lets you see many stars.

America, and big cities are like this.. try visiting europe, about 5 miles outside the city you see a clear sky like you were never in lights

Incorrect. Europe has largely the same issue. Mostly northwestern Europe.

It would be cool if we had a “No Light” Day once a year so we can experience this every once in a while

YES IT WOULD BE REALLY COOL

Yes this is a great idea! People have tried an hour of no light and stuff but a lot of people don't participate

Have you heard of earth hour?

mushi So THAT’S what it’s called

They do in Bali

As a kid growing up in India, we were subject to power cuts over large parts of the state, in the summer, when we came out of our houses to admire the thousands of stars and the milky way which was amazing to watch. Words cannot explain how beautiful it is, you have to experience it yourself.

Same in Pakistan too

As an Indian, I have not experienced any of that 😭

@Aarav Diwakar you probably Live in big cities of India or rich State like Maharashtra, Tamilnadu

Where do u stay in India? I can't see the milky way even during blackouts 😢

@butterfly8 Delhi

When I was a little kid, I’d stare at the night sky and every night when I do that, I’d promise myself to count all them, which I never could. I’d try to fathom just how far away they are and what it’d be like to touch them. Now it’s rare to see a single star on the sky, but every once in a while whenever I see one, I would reminisce about those times.

well did you know that the star you were watching is how they looked 4 thousand year ago. its becuase the star are so far that the light can only reach us 4000 years later

I can relate. One super clear night in the burbs I caught a glimpse and was taken back in time. I grabbed my little kids and laid down on the driveway. If my neighbors saw me I’m sure they thought I lost my mind. Anyway, it was a good time and I hope my kids remember that night well into their future.

i relate. i used to go out at night as a child to look at the stars and go catch fireflies, it was so fun. I had to move though, so i don't see them as much

Same. I miss those stars. I really miss them. I want to see them again, and again, and again

what?! you cant see a star

People don't understand just how beautiful the night sky is without any light pollution. I mean, I had been an amateur astronomer for 2 years but I had only ever observed from the suburbs. This one time I got a chance to take my telescope out to a truly dark sky and believe me, it was sensational. I almost didn't use the telescope because I was too busy lying on the ground and admiring the beauty of the Milky Way. I can't really explain it because you have to experience it- it just cannot be put into words.

Neither do they care.

@hmu Philly speak for yourself

Yeah you practically need to be far, far away from cities and everything else just to have a chance at seeing such a majestic night sky. I still dream of the day when I can see it for myself...

@cameraREDeye not just far away, but also high in a hill mountain to avoid the skyglow.. even in sub rural areas its terrible still

Are there known locations where you can see the stars?

The closest I ever got to seeing the real night sky was at a summer camp I went to as a child. I remember looking up at the familiar landmark of Orion's belt and being startled at how many more stars were in the sky than before.

Fun fact: there's also an Orion's penis. They didn't want to include it in the constellation but it's there

Orion is my favorite konstellation. I live on a farm in the Netherlands and there is 0 light all around on the fields so I just take night walks and admire the night every night😁

@Simple Kid It's called the Horse Head nebula because he's h-

gudetama W pfp

Never actually have seen the true night sky in person :(

Really is one of the most beautiful thing I ever seen. I had to go to the Dominican republic to see a real night sky but it was still worth it

That's super sad acctualy

I am sad for you i was so lucky to have seen it and it will change your life it did for me

You absolutely have to make it a must on your bucket list, it’s a sight like no other.

skam all I can say is my month fell open and I could not close it for 10 seconds when I saw it... you’ve got to see it in person man :)

I was a kid the last time I really saw the night sky, so when I saw it again recently I was filled with an overwhelming feeling of nostalgia and sadness. I’d completely forgotten that stars exist. How sad is that

That’s beautifully tragic

😭 I go out to see the stars as often as I can. It’s so important to me, and light pollution is disrupting what could be an otherwise perfect and magical experience.

Let me take you to the stars mahhh lady

If there are not light pollution, we might see this beautiful sky. Some places on earth have less light pollution and you'll likely see so many stars, planets, and even milky way galaxy. I'd like to go to rural area with less light pollution. You will get the best experience if you go to mountain peak, middle of ocean, desert, or large meadow. Not only light pollution, cloudy sky also disturb us to see night sky. Some places on earth have clear sky all year round like Atacama Desert. It's the best place to see night sky 🌌✨🌠

@Arnab Nandi? w rizz

​@Basil Greg MARIKIT fr

well did you know that the star you were watching is how they looked 4 thousand year ago. its becuase the star are so far that the light can only reach us 4000 years later

There are so many easy fixes for this I hope we do it someday. Even having motion sensitive streetlights that go out when no one is moving around that area or just directing light to the ground instead in all directions. Also I can tell you that, having grown up in rural areas, your eyes can dark adapt very well and you can see plenty under moonlight, even with a fingernail-crescent moon.

Drove 9 hrs to Big Bend National Park in Texas specifically for Stargazing, and I have to admit that it was TOTALLY worth it. I saw about 20 shooting stars of all sizes and shapes, the milky way was beautiful, but my favorite part was the twinkling of the stars. The night starry sky is so alive that I just lay there for 6 hrs straight.

I remember being in a combat field while in the army, and while we were waiting to move at night, I put my night vision on and looked up at the sky and sat there amazed, just looking up for an hour straight while we waited. I could see every single star in the sky, where with my eyes I could see maybe a handful.

Thank you for shedding light on this problem. We lived in the dark for too long.

🤣

Your a good person. Have a good day.

Ha he ho ho. Your so punny

ooo i c wut u did ther

MrTwinkls Haha, great puns!!

I remember one night in my father's home town that electricity was turned off. When I looked up as a kid I was shocked beyond measure since I had grown up in the big city and had never seen anything like it. It was awe inspiring.

Night Sky, the one with the stars, is so beautiful. Its so humbling, majestic, and nostalgic at the same time. Wish we all could experience it properly.

0:26 that was actually such a profound statement, beyond just the night sky. People are brainwashed into “just think positive” to the point that they ignore their shadows by “over lighting”. AKA sit in the sun too long you get burned. Sometimes you need to sit in the shade/relax at night (in the “negative”) to heal.

I have never seen the true night sky in my entire life, only a dark, endless void without any light or stars.. And with the way that things are going recently, I'm afraid that I'll never see it, I'm afraid that I'll die without ever seeing it.

that's so sad man. i was once walk to a store to buy snacks with my nephew. i ask him, does he ever see stars on the sky, he said he knew stars but never knew how it looks like. i mean, he was right. the last time i can see stars on the sky is when i was 9 or 10. now i'm 26. i don't even have time to stare onto the sky anymore. too busy with my school, college, and now become a corporate slave, lol. sad life.

Now that's a chilling comment.

True

join the club alot of people dont see it

Go to a park or a road trip and you'll see them

Thank you for such an amazing video! It really is sad to know that most people will live and die without ever seeing the beauty of the cosmos and the night sky, I'm definitely putting this on my bucket-list. We should bring more awareness to this problem. The night views on the big cities are pretty but so is our galaxy

I feel if more people in the city saw the real night sky, they’d have better perspective on life.

Feel better kid

And how it could suck less?

hence, the flat-earthers are usually urbanites lurking in cyberspace.

I live in Los Angeles and I see it whenever I go camping. What makes u think living here doesn’t allow you to have a good perspective on life?

For me, I’m happy that I don’t get to see it all the time. Because whenever I do, I can appreciate it more than someone who sees it every night.

I remember being at summer camp once and we could choose to spend one night outside under the stars. (No tent or cabin just you on a mat) And we had a mini star show. I could see a lot of stars but I woke up in the middle of the night and there were so many stars. It was more than I'd ever seen. So pretty!

I have been to Alaska and Aleutian Islands, where a great deal of stars/astronomy can be viewed. Its an experience I would recommend for anyone who really wishes to see, with their own naked eyes, how many 'stars are really out there'. It helped me place light pollution effects and atmosphere in perspective. Its a huge effect.

I grew up on the east coast with a lot of light pollution and had no idea how orange the sky was until I lived in Nevada and was introduced to a hot spring a couple of hours away from the closest city so I could see the night sky clearly. I think it was 1 or 2 on the Bortle Scale, absolutely breathtaking. There's nothing I miss more than being able to see a wide open clear sky in the middle of the night while soaking in a hot spring, especially when a lunar eclipse was happening. I hope to see a drastic drop in light pollution in the near future.

I remember when I was younger, you could actually see the stars. Now you can barely even see maybe one or two in the sky where I live. It’s sad that some people never get to see what the night sky actually looks like.

I think it highly depends on where you live, like sure if you're in the city you won't see much, but in outback or suburban/rural areas the skies are filled with stars and planets.

Ironic that lights are preventing us from seeing.

Deserves more likes

The thing used to see makes it harder to see

😢makes me sad to die without seeing the beautiful purple sky

Society

I believe if anything is maximized after a certain point, it does opposite of what it should. News is supposed to give info, but too much of it and you'll less sure about things cause frankly, we don't know things! Movies and shows are supposed help you get out of boring times, too much of it and you'll be bored of them!

My mind felt like it had literally popped when I used a night vision monocular and looked up to the skies. I was gobsmacked by just how much of those stars that I have never seen in all my life before. To only realize at my age now, just how much more of the night sky has been kept hidden in plain view is incredbly depressing.

I can't even remember the last time I saw the Milky Way! I love stargazing and astronomy in general. It's a shame that it's so difficult to see the night sky in detail anymore.

Me and my brother randomly decided to sleep on the trampoline in November here in Canada when we saw the biggest and brightest and the most colourful shooting star. It lasted for a few seconds and changed to multiple colours as it burned up. It was such a special moment and it was even more cool that we later heard it on the radio and they were saying it was a once in a lifetime event.

Can't believe such a beautiful night passes over me *every night* but due to -light pollution- ,I have missed a single day of my life

I remember when I went into a cave when I was younger. The tour guide was kind enough to turn out all of the artificial lighting when we were in the deepest part so we could experience total darkness (we were told not to move for the 1 minute the lights were out). I doubt I'll ever experience that kind of total darkness outside of another cave.

Carlsbad caverns where like that in the fifties and sixties.

Same here.

I remember when I was a kid, you could see the whole night sky in Beijing, but as I grew up, the stars started to disappear. And on my 18th birthday, my parents took me to the montain area around Beijing with minimum artificial light. When I saw the sky full of stars again, I cried the whole night.

Many years ago, my buddies and I visited Mammoth Lakes, Ca in the Sierra Nevada Mountain range. One night we headed out to watch the night sky. One adult Los Angeles friend who was with us, until that night had never seen a shooting star!

Same in Chengdu; We can't see much of anything in the city. I visited the 'Autonomous Tibetan Areas' and there you can see everything...

You should perhaps get glasses. I lost my ability to see them as the years went by and only the brightest remained. My prescription is actually low, -1.75 on the worst eyes. After getting glasses, I can see almost every single little star. I almost cried. I'm an avid stargazer on the balcony.

bro cried cause he saw stars lmfao

@thc & ohp, grass & mass, mary jane & muscle gain ok pothead

As one of the humans who lives near cities, this is so wonderful! I never get to see these, mainly because our area typically gets light pollution because we live near the largest city in our country! Yes, we see a few starts (most get mistaken for plane lights) but we never got to see the Milky Way at all! So wonderful!

I live in the city and it’s hard to see stars in the city but during this pandemic people stopped driving so much so a lot less pollution in the air and as results there seem like so many stars was in the sky it was really nice to observe it really goes to show you what impact pollution has on aerial visibility in cities

when i was 4 i visited relatives in mexico and i still vividly remember looking up and seeing SO MANY stars. i didnt even get to see the milky way, but all those stars alone impressed me so much. ill never forget that sight. i really hope one day i‘ll be able to see the actual night sky.

Dr. Hanson. I just stumbled on to your show yesterday and I really like it's content. I think it's so cool when science, physics, humor and some useful information are combined. Done in a style similar to "Bill Ny The Science Guy" and "Science Asylum", I think your show ranks up there with the best of them. I'd like to see more on astronomy in particular.

i’ve never seen this beautiful night sky in real life, i only saw it on videos, photos, etc. i wish i wouldve been able to see it. it’s literally so beautiful… its kind of depressing how it did go from that to a black and empty void. although as a kid i used to see more stars than now, i’ve never been able to see the beauty of the natural night sky. there were only a few stars when i was younger but now i rarely see them. im happy i was able to see some stars when i was younger

you should also do a video on how we are losing silence! specifically, how we are losing places that have no sounds made by humans

Or places free from constant loud barking howling dogs.

@Satanen Perkele well, yes. but i guess to rephrase it, places with sounds only coming from wildlife. loud barking dogs in city streets are definitely not the work of nature, lol.

When I worked at a Guest Ranch in WY, I experienced silence. The only sounds? The wind and birds. Awesome.

Yes that would be interesting. So mysterious

That's an excellent idea!

typed this in another video some years ago, relevant here as well: I remember back in 1996 while on board the USS Dubuque as a Marine, and one night I was guarding the boat deck doors while flight ops was happening. When the helicopter took off and waited for the "all clear" to sound so I can get back to bed, I looked up at the night sky and saw exactly what you see in the video, maybe even more so.(EDIT: Also a cloudless, moonless night!) Out in the middle of the pitch black pacific ocean, no lights at all save for the dull red blinking light at the top of the mast. Which didn't effect anything. I was simply mesmerized by the experience. Having lived near a large city (Atlanta) all my life, and only being able to see just a few bright stars. That night however, I was able to see the Milky Way and the whole sky just filled with stars was absolutely amazing. A few minutes later, they sounded the "all clear", but I didn't care I stayed there to stare up at the stars for a while longer.

Wow

the things im willing to do to experience this...

💕

@geet As someone who has experienced it from their childhood, you HAVE to have it happen to you once. It's... indescribable.

I live in western Europe and can only see a handful of stars during nighttime... I still remember how amazed I was by the stars, during a night tour through the Egyptian dessert with my parents back in nov 2000. I was 9 years old at that time...

I agree with this video. About 2-3 years ago, I was with my family at the beach at night, just taking a stroll. It was very dark. Let's just say the sky was full of stars at that moment. I have the vision engraved in my mind because I only thought "This is beautiful". I wish I could recreate that vision one day, but unfortunately where I live it's nearly impossible.

Watching the night sky in a truly perfect area for it where you have 100% visibility, is simply surreal as someone who lives in a major metro area. I'd seen it several times before, going out a ways into the hills, but nowhere near the intensity as when I went out to a place in the mountains that was shielded from the rest of the state, for a music festival. The full night sky was freely visible within 100 feet of the main stage (away from what little light pollution there was, to let my eyes adjust), and I decided it was time to try LSD for the first time because of the fantastic atmosphere for it. It was only after that night, that I truly recognized how massive the universe is, staring up into it like that. I could see patterns in the stars, complete with the same depth that you described, only they were showing me the path over which the gasses that formed them had taken through the universe, at some scale that I was able to comprehend. I've never simultaneously felt so small and so enormous in my life, because I could instantly comprehend the events necessary to bring all those forces together, with the right mix of elements and conditions, that life was able to appear on this one rock here. People have been experiencing this for eons until now, and I truly hope that we can find good ways soon to minimize light pollution so that it isn't so hard to go and find this view of space in the future, for so many of our world's population. Everyone NEEDS to experience this, as a part of their life, and it shouldn't be something that we strive to only get once, or a few times, within our lives. As it's in our very nature to seek out intoxication, we should be able to do so and immediately have the kind of comprehension that I experienced, just by staring up above me. It'd make the world a better place to live in, and I think it'd make a lot more people be a lot more chill, since they would all be a bit humbler for it

This video happened to be recommended and I kid you not, it's one of the best and inspiring video I've seen recently. I'm living in a city where such sophisticated sky is never seen. Man, if I could see this at every night, I would've never distracted by anything else in night again.

I remember when I was a kid, it felt hard not to see loads of stars in the night sky. Sometimes I wish I could go back in time and experience my childhood again.

Watching Milky Way with my eyes is one of the things I wanna do before I die update: finally got to see it few days ago 25th Oct 22 . 3 years after this comment. Drove 300km away from town in middle of nowhere and sky was clear. So beautiful and huge in person. Photos don't do it justice. I'll never forget that day.

Me too😢😢😢

@Ivan Ivanov thanks!

Then do it. Its not difficult. You just have to travel away from the towns and cities. And once in a suitable location, allow at least an hour for your eyes to adjust.

@Anf Trew Bruh dont expect something to people they cant do yet, Support them, not repeating the "Point". 😑🙃

I've done it already 😉

yesterday there was a power outage in my part of the city. i got out in -20C in home clothes just to see the stars. it was phenomenal. i haven't seen a sky full of stars in years. i can only imagine how many stars there would've been if the whole city was out of power. i would've stayed outside yesterday if it wasn't so cold and windy. i want to do it again

Born and grown in a major metro area. I had to look up if these sort of pictures are real in the past because it is so crazy to me. Hope someday to see in person.

That makes sense. When travelling along the highways at night through some rural areas of Canada the night sky was noticeably different than usually, I would stick my head out of the window and just stare up at the sky in awe.

Problem is that I have been afraid of the dark my whole life. I cannot sleep unless there is some light shining into my bedroom when i go to bed, and even though I live in a city and there is a lot of light pollution, I always try to be home by dark because being out after the sun goes down makes me anxious.

I always took see night sky for granted, and find it weird that there are people who do not see thousands of stars in the night sky. I do know of light pollution and have seen it myself but I never really appreciated it until I started studying at the city

This is the saddest news in my life. I love the night sky. Especially the moon. The stars. The sense of peace in it.

I want to see how the moon looks in a true night sky now! :(

@horse14t There was a time where a huge black out occurred probably in a provincial scale, I've seen the milky way and the pretty dust clouds and the bright stars. Is one of the most perfect night I've seen. One of the only few memories i don't want to forget.

@迦娜Ayai Lucky :( I've had power outages before but nothing big enough to see the milky way

@horse14t Maybe neighboring places are too bright..

@迦娜Ayai Likely. We live just on the edge of our grid so often when our power goes out our neighbours behind us are perfectly fine.

I live in Singapore, where there is a lot of light pollution. I saw stars for the first time when I was in rural Malaysia. It was the most beautiful sight I’ve ever seen. And wow, so all the “starry sky” images I’ve seen on Google image searches were real!

I can't even begin to express just how much I miss seeing the night sky without light pollution!!!

The most beautiful sight that I've ever seen outside of my children being born was out in the middle of the Atlantic with bioluminescence lighting up the front of the submarine as we drove through it while I looked up at the night sky. The only lights that we had were running lights and our submarine strobe light identifying as a submarine

My mom is from Guatemala, so I've been lucky enough to visit there a couple times throughout my life. Back when I was a teen, blackouts were very common there. The entire city would lose power for hours. It made for the most beautiful sights I've ever witnessed. Before then, I never knew how bright the Milky Way actually was, and how bright the planets would be.

When I was trekking in Uttarkashi, India. I used to wake up at 5am everyday. All I could see was pitch black sky with stars and a pitch black patch with zero stars. The first time I saw that I was really perplexed. Only after a minute I could comprehend that a neighbouring mountain had eclipsed the stars. I can never forget that beautiful view.

9:45 As someone who is interested in astronomy, this scene honestly brought a tear to my eye. The Universe is a beautiful place and we should know it better.

Same here.

Same.

Look closer it's less beautiful (I mean yea it's beautiful but, planets and stars probably boring)

@ThatOneProFloppa Nope

@ThatOneProFloppa have you looked at close up photos of stars/planets/groups of them? its so beautiful!

I've lived in areas that can see about 14-24 stars all my life. I've always wanted to see the Milky Wat with my own eyes instead of just pictures.

I've seen it, way back in 2008 I traveled to Washburn, Wisconsin for family and visiting them. Let's just say the colors I seen were unreal, so many stars you couldn't even begin to count, only 1,900 people lived in the town we were in at the time. The world population was less and less light pollution around the world in 2008. But overall I'm glad I experienced seeing our Milky Way basically like no other human being.

9:45 even the blurred out stars in the back looked sooo beautiful, i literally had chills. rlly just wanna see them once, wanna experience outerspace one day

Same here, in the Northern India, there was a time when at night you could literally see the whole milky way unfolding in front of you, but now the pollution is catching up even in the most remote areas. 😢

It’s been honestly a long time since I have ever seen a night sky full of shining stars, I honestly want for a full on blackout to happen one day just for me to be able to see stars again, I miss them

I grew up spending many summer nights in very rural west Texas, well away from any town. My grandparents lived there, my uncle still does. It rarely rains, so in summer, we would just have a bed outside, like you would normally have in your room. The night sky is absolutely incredible, most people nowadays have no idea how many stars fill the night sky, it’s still that way. Gives you an understanding of how huge the universe is, and we are living on a tiny rock.

I was a child in dark, no electricity, tiny community somewhere in Central America. The night sky was EXPECTACULAR. Truly the greatest gig in the sky.

Visiting my grandpa back in the days, he lived kn a more rural area, we could see the night sky every night and evrn the milky way. I honestly remember it being kinda bright at night. Lately I've been trying to see it again in the city and I can see maybe 5 stars or so (back then you could still see kind of a lot, even in the city).

The first time i saw the milky way with my own eyes. It was the most inspiring thing i have ever seen. seeing the huge expanse, i felt so small, and yet somehow so alive at the same time, that yes, i am here and now, observing the whole universe in front of me, with my own eyes.

One of my favourite experience was taking acid and staring at the night sky in summer, i live in a smallish enough town in Ireland so light pollution isn't too bad but damn when i was on acid it was just amazing cus it looked like all the stars were connected and it just seemed like they formed a giant dome over us, but the lights would fade in and out so it was a bit surreal.

This is the reason why I love the country/rural areas so much, it’s much easier to see the stars and the night sky

where are you living if I may ask?

Some Random Edgy Guy Iowa

I love the country, its the best. Swore i would never live in a city but here i am, in a little dump city in ct. People get too angry and rushed, inconsiderate driving etc. In the country its a different world, your buffered from the "real world"

@Don Fields ok grandpa

me too I love rural areas

One thing not mentioned is how inexperience with night skies has blinded academic attitudes towards how the sky affected human cultures, and how important it was for them, before artificial nighttime illumination became so overbearing. One of my favorite memories is being out in a national forest, far from everything, watching the lunar eclipse of July, 1982, in a completely cloudless night sky.

my dad always told me about this, he said while he was overseas in iraq that at night in the middle of the dessert you could see the milky way since theres nothing but sand around. i have yet to see it fully with my own eyes but i do get to see quite a bit of stars since we live in a rural area.

I’ve also noticed that the nighttime has gotten less dark, obviously in the forest is still pitch black but in suburbs, the sky looks like it has a small amount of light just floating around above us

1:17 As a Singaporean, that is totally true. I remembered the last time I was able to see the stars at night was in the 1990's. I was still in primary school and was really fascinated by the cosmos. Now, the only thing I can see is the Moon(obviously) and the ISS. Also, this is a great video.

I live in a place where at night I can see some stars in the sky. I remember once I went camping to a kinda remote location and I was very impressed by how many stars I could see

I absolutely hate light pollution. I hate that we are so disconnected from the natural rythms of the earth. There is nothing we can't ruin

Could not agree with you more!

CL Melonshark I definitely see your point but we're not doing it very well tbh 🤷

CL Melonshark lmao I live near central london you can never see stars at night 😭😭😂

Bro what even are stars

@Epiccatqueen 3312 ? Wht s nglsh?!....?

This video is very interesting, I never imagined that the artificial light could cause negative effects in animals and people, I thought that light was harmless. Also, I'm surprised because I live in a town where I can see the stars every night and realize that there are places were people don't see 98% of the stars, it's hard to believe.

Having live in a rural area, I'm glad I got to see this in the outback in Aus. Having no street lights, I have seen the Milky way in its glory but over the years unfortunately it seems to be deteriorating. It sucks but still beautiful

I grew up on the ocean and remember seeing stars everybight growing up. But as the skylines got bigger and more developed, Ive noticed the decrease in stars

I honestly thought these kind of pics of the night sky were in enhanced or were special effects. And now I’m sad because I realize even though I grew up in the country in the USA I have never truly seen the night 🌌 sky. That’s pretty mind blowing!

I remember in 2003 laying in the desert in Iraq with a fellow Soldier he explained a lot about space to me. He was a science major in college and somehow ended up there lol. I had never seen space so clear as those nights. It was there that I seen the space station for the first time. One day I may go back just to see the views again.

You're telling me we traded all the tiny lights in the sky for the tiny lightbulbs in our houses?

Oh my. I lived in Malaysia and 9 years ago there are dozen of stars in the sky. Right now I can hardly find any. I never really knew what happened but I guess now I do

Shops leave their lights on all night and day, its a waste and drives the cost of your home electricity up. High rise office buildings all leave their lights on, street lights are spaced like every 50 feet or something, signs are lit, on every business frontage when they isn't even open at night, display windows is lit all night, though nobody be shopping at 2am, traffic lights I can understand, but at least half the night lighting, if not more, is just wasteful. Then there's car traffic headlights, those are getting brighter, and there's even daytime running lights (stupid idea). All the lighting is just edging us towards genetic blindness, we won't be able to see unless a supernova is burning our retinas with hard radiation.

Exactly. Why on earth do you need bloody lights at night? Aren’t you, you know, supposed to be asleep?

​@hdiabeegee People made life more complicated. Nights exist for a reason, its a time to sleep and rest. But shifts and jobs exist now

I feel so lucky to have been able to see a dark sky. I'm from the far east and have been able to live in the province. We used to go on a small boat and out to the sea. We'd turn off our light and let me tell you, it is absoultely amazing. I definitely recommend you find a way to see something like this before you die or sumthin. Have a lovely day. - Human from 2021 (2019 feels so long ago)

I went on a college trip to see the Bristlecone pine trees and after are 5-hour drive out of Sacramento, the last hour of which was a dirt road, we camped overnight on the mountain. I know we were there to see the oldest living thing on the planet but it was the first and only time I've seen the Milky Way and it made far more of an impact on me.

great video. there always seems to be a red or blue pill to every topic. and if you are in the state of consciousness, you can see how deep the rabit hole goes :D i loved this video, especially since also for me there is a touch and a paradoxis part to this topic of feeling small AND big, connected AND far away, which is hard to transport by words and pictures only, when one notices the magic of such places, where you can see this fabulous parts of universum . Thank you and keep up the good stuff in exploring and looking at things on a deeper level :)

It honestly wasn't until recently I learned that there are people who've never seen the milky way.. I live in the middle of the US and have often gone out to areas with very little light pollution and the milky way was just apart of growing up for me... I really am sad to learn that it's not something everyone experiences... If anything I recommend everyone take at least one journey to somewhere dark just to see it. It really is beautiful.

Except somewhere dark is hundreds of kilometers away.

I only learnt recently that the Milky Way is supposed to be visible to the naked eye. I assumed it was discovered by some astronomer a few centuries back, not something that most of humanity saw every night *until* a few centuries ago. I don't even live in a particularly urban area (town of about 8,000), and I can count the stars I see in the sky on one hand. I don't know how to put my thoughts about this into words.

It is absolutely crazy to me most people have never seen the true night sky! I'm lucky to live out in the country, and while there's plenty of light pollution, we can just drive out to where this isn't and enjoy the stars!

"Back in my day there used to be 9 planets and a Galaxy visible to naked eye."

rather 2, Andromeda is, although barely, visible to the naked eye

whose quote is it?

9 planets with the naked eye? How is that even possible?

@Thunder Rather 4. The large and small magellanic clouds are also galaxies visible to the naked eye in the southern hemisphere.

Arib Anwar Lol Uranus and Neptune aren’t visible to the naked eye

Man i remember when i was a kid me and my mom used to stay in a garden until it became night time, and id count the stars in the sky. sad to know that light pollution is stopping me from experiencing that again.

I am from a Rural part in India. So I was always familiar with less light polluted skies and a lot of stars. But none of my university classmates were. One day, as a part of a trip, I got the chance to take some of my friends to my home. I was actually a bit worried because there is nothing much to do in my home and I thought they might find the entire trip boring af. My parents weren't great chefs so that we could treat them with some Epic home made meal , my home was a fairly average sized one and it was already 7pm so I couldn't even take them out for a stroll or anything. But, all of my worries got washed away when I saw some of their faces getting brightened up soo well at the sight of the night sky . I didn't realize how much night pollution was taking away from someone until I saw my friends just staring at the sky like that. They were excited... Like kids. They straight up went to the rooftop and started taking pictures and looking at the sky. It was soo satisfying to me. Now that I think about it , there might have been a lot of people who haven't seen a star filled sky IRL in their entire lifetime. It hurts me a lot that something that was soo easily accessible to us and soo popular throughout the history is just no longer accessible for many.

I live in the Atlanta Metro area and saw my first true dark sky last year in Ecuador while volunteering at an animal refuge deep in the Amazon. Our living quarters were on a clearing up on a hill and we decided to have a campfire on one of our last nights there before flying back to Atlanta. I had never seen so many stars in my life. I felt so small. It made me realize all my problems, all my fears and all all my failures don't matter when compared to everything going on in the universe. At the time I was suffering through depression, and seeing the beauty of the universe before me, at the top of that hill, somehow was comforting. I could feel all my burdens disappearing. I stared at that sky for hours while listening to the sounds of the rainforest at night. Truly an amazing experience that I'm sad I cant easily have again due to all the light pollution here in the States.

Great video. I lived in rural England when I was younger due to my dad being in the military. I remember there were nights when the sky was full of stars. I'm hoping to visit one of these dark sky sites to see the stars and Milky Way for myself.

I was able to experience bortle 2 skies (bordering some bortle 1 areas to both the west (gila mountains) and to the east (white sands missle range) while camping with someone on some BLM land at elephant butte reservoir in Southern New Mexico. It's strange because there were so many stars in the sky that it was hard to make out the constellations and not because of the lack thereof. When I stared long enough, it felt like the night sky was in 3 dimensions as if some stars were closer than others in reference to the Milky Way. It is disappointing that people live their entire lives without seeing the Milky Way when its left to unspoiled skies.

Electrician here, who happens to love star light, whenever I’m asked to install lights outside, I’ve always pushed for less, I never win. Clients love the light, and city’s mandate it. I’ve know these facts for sometime and people look at me like I’m crazy when I explained it to them.

Is there any way you can recommend the type of fixtures that don't aim upwards or have shielding to avoid some light pollution?

M McCoy best to put your outside lights on a motion detector, why have them on if nobody is around?

Same either. I'm an electrician too

Try to get them to compromise and atleast use "dark sky rated" fixtures, they don't shine light directly into the sky by definition. And something everyone can do is go to your town board or city council meetings and advocate for the town to become a dark sky town that mandates dark sky compliance on all new installations.

Wow! This was very interesting! I didn’t realize that in the city I can’t see the stars as much 😭 but now I truly want to experience seeing the stars and the Milky Way wow! It is so beautiful 🌌

It’s funny for me (in a sad way) Like I have a condition that causes my rod cells to die and always thought the fact I can’t see many stars at night was due to my decreasing amount of rod cells. Probably thought that till I was 12-14 when I suddenly noticed I saw a new star or 2 (as in I went from seeing 2-3 stars to seeing more) and then I learned about light pollution

i wish i could see the stars. i remember seeing them more often as a kid and now there aren’t many

I'm currently living in sg. It's infuriating. The sun goes down at around 7:30 and when I look out of my window or take a stroll at 8 or later, I can literally see a yellowish gradient at the bottom of the horizon, where all the MAJOR major city lights are. I'm amazed if I even manage to see a single star.

I grew up in a household with the windows almost always covered... It was very dim in my house, and it was pitch black at night without a light on you or a night light on or something. But as a result, I have little to no issues seeing in the dark compared to most people lol.

I just talked about this. I'm old now but most every free hour was working my grandparents farm, no electricity no running water. After working the fields, the adults would sit on the porch and we kids would lay out on old blankets and watch the sky. There were no city lights it was dark. You felt as though you could touch the stars it was wonderful. I totally understand our ancestors views about Heaven when you visibly see the Milky Way and shooting stars. It's a shame, just 65 years ago I could see the stars. Not anymore, they talk about ocean pollution but seeing the massive amount of space junk in orbit is just as shocking.

I remember when I was young, I and my dad often lay down on the meadow in front of our house and watched a sky full of stars. Now the sky is blank :

That's what dreams are made of. I try to do the same with my dad. When I take my dog out for a walk I ask my dad to join us and we lose ourselves looking into the night sky, staring at Betelgeuse and Venus.

@Al S sure you do buddy

@M Mafia ?

​​@Al S you can see betelgeuse from earth with no telescope???

I grew up in the suburbs of Kansas City. After moving out to the country-side in the mid 80’s I can remember not being able to see my hand in front of my face! Not sure if it was just culture shock or if it use to be that dark. Now when I visit my parents, it does seem that dark.

I would love to see the stars again. Haven't seen a night like that for a while.

Now I know why I couldn't see the sky like in movies and photos,I almost convinced myself that not seeing so much on the sky at night is natural and normal. And I live in a relatively small city,far from being a metropola.