All of those lights at highway intersections, street lights, security lights and doorway entrance lights add up to our generation being disallowed from seeing the grandeur of the heavens without traveling to very remote locations.
Many simple fixes that cost a municipality a little more up front, but save money on energy costs in the lifetime of the bulb could be implemented but are not (This also means more electricity is consumed and wasted adding to CO2 pollution for the coal plants to power it). Downward shielding concentrates the light to only where it is useful, which also reduces the wattage needed. Studies have conclusively shown that security lights also do not reduce the crime rate, they merely make people feel safer (even though they are not).
The end result is from my suburban backyard, I cannot see the milky way galaxy we reside in except in the best of conditions and only when looking straight up. In my photo, the stars forming the "w" shape are part of the constellation Cassiopeia, which is along the spine of the milky way. The chimney of the house follows the rough path of the milky way in the sky, if you were able to see it. Many people today ignore the heavens and exciting celestial events because they simply cannot see them.
Visit darksky.org for more info.
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