Light pollution blanks out night sky in city

Floodlights, LED lights, construction activity deny a clear sky view for people

Rare astronomical events have occurred over the past few weeks, including a particularly close JupiterSaturn conjunction, the triple conjunction of Mercury, Jupiter and Saturn, apart from meteor showers and comet Neowise crossing the sky, but astronomy enthusiasts in the city say that it is difficult to witness these because of the city lights.

Light pollution is killing the joy of looking up at the night sky, astronomy enthusiasts and scientists have complained.

Praveen Suryavanshi, an amateur astronomer and educator, said that just to witness a full dark sky one now will have to travel at least 100 km away from the city. “My friends and I from the astronomers society in the city witnessed the Jupiter-Saturn conjunction from our offices and homes. I was in Hitec

City that day, and the shots I managed to get of the event show the kind of pollution from city lights and even the dust that emcompass the sky now,” he said.

He added that the big floodlights, the neon lights on billboards and malls till the Shamshabad area have added to the pollution, especially in the last four to five years. “These unnecessary lights and the continuous construction activities have spoiled the city skies so much that even the night sky reflects this light, and on most nights clouds are visible,” Praveen said.

ASTRONOMERS demand that government take steps to protect the few spots left in and around the city from where the night sky appears truly dark

A heat map shows light pollution in Hyderabad and surroundings. The light pollution has made it impossible to see the M33 galaxy from Birla Science Centre, and difficult to spot from the Rangapur Observatory, 60 km away.