Podcaster: Exodus Chun-Long Sit
Title: ASTROMAN: The Dark Sky Guardian – Dark Sky Initiative at Home
Organization: IAU NAEC & Co-NOC Hong Kong, China
Link: https://exodussit.wordpress.com/english
Description: Description: In this episode of Astro Man: The Dark Sky Guardian, host Exodus Chun-Long Sit, NAEC and co-NOC of Hong Kong (China), introduces us to learn how to protect the night sky from light pollution with simple home lighting changes. Discover dark sky friendly tips to save energy, protect wildlife, and bring back the stars.
“ASTROMAN: the Dark Sky Guardian” is a podcast channel that aims to explore popular science in multiple disciplines and research on interdisciplinary approaches, such as sustainability, dark-sky protection, astrophotography, space exploration, astronomy innovation, inclusive science communication, and STEAM Education by integrating science and arts.
Bio: Exodus CL Sit, also known as the ASTROMAN, is a transmedia astronomy educator, popular science author, STEAM educator, and science communicator in Hong Kong. He is recently the National Astronomy Education Coordinator (Chair of Hong Kong, China) of the International Astronomical Union and President of Starrix. He was also an International Committee Member of the Dark Sky International, regularly organizing public lectures at the Hong Kong Space Museum and the Hong Kong Science Museum. He was also the author of a popular science book “Decoding the Starry Night: A Guide to Stargazing and Astrophotography”.
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Transcript:
Hello and welcome to Astro Man, the Dark Sky Guardian, the podcast where we explore the wonders of the universe and explore the natives in astronomy and space phenomena. I am your host, Exodus Chun-Long Sit, transmitter astronomer from Hong Kong, China, and today we talk about the Dark Sky Initiative at home. Protecting the night sky starts with individual actions, and that means beginning light at home.
Outdoor lighting is a major contributor to light pollution, which studies show that 20-50% of residential outdoor lighting can be wasted by spilling light upward into the sky. This not only diminishes the ability of stars, but also disrupts ecosystems and wastes energy. So what can you do?
The first step is to access your outdoor lighting system carefully. Use only fixtures that are fully shielded, which means they direct light downward where it is needed, and prevent gear or night spill that shines into the sky or neighboring properties. Many communities and organizations recommend using fixtures certified with certification as dark sky friendly.
Look for lighting that uses warm and colored bulbs rather than bright whites or brushed lights. The reason is that blueish light scatters more in the atmosphere, increasing sky glow, and negatively affecting wildlife and human health by disrupting circulatory rhythms. Motion sensors and timers are great tools to reduce unnecessary lighting.
For example, the garden lights can be set to turn on only when used necessarily when someone approaches, or setting a timer can ensure lights are off during the late night hours. When they are not needed, simply turn off light where not in use is one of the most straightforward ways to cut down on light pollution and save energy. Indoor lighting also plays a role.
Keep curtains closed at night can minimize light escaping outside from inside the home, further reducing overall light pollution. For those who want to go further, many organizations including the Dark Sky International offer home lighting assessment and certification programs. These programs guide residents through evaluating their property lighting with tools such as the dark sky meter app or sky quality meters to measure the light pollution index.
So participants can take some patches to adopt less lighting practice, inspire neighbors, or sometimes even receive a dark sky friendly home certification. More importantly, community involvement is especially powerful. Consider hosting neighborhood workshops or sharing your success on social media to foster a collective movement, or motivating more people to aware the importance of reducing light pollution footprint by encouraging businesses or local governments to adopt better lighting designs and policies such as using food shield street lights, lamps, and limiting the hours that outdoor commercial lighting is active. Reducing light pollution is not just an aesthetic choice, it saves energy and money, reduces carbon emissions, that maintains healthy and wildlife behaviors including the bird migration and natural animal activities, and even improves human health by preserving natural circadian cycles. You can be part of this global movement.
Start with your own home by lighting smartly, turning things off when not needed, and leading the way in your neighborhood. You help bring back the starry night sky for everyone to join. And this is Exodus and thank you for listening to the podcast of Astro Man the Dark Sky Guardians and see you in the next episode.
End of podcast:
365 Days of Astronomy
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Until next time let the stars guide your curiosity