                        Astronomy Picture of the Day

    Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                                2023 March 8
    A flattened map of the Earth is shown illuminated only by how bright
       the night sky is. Please see the explanation for more detailed
                                information.

                       Artificial Night Sky Brightness
      Image Credit: Data: JPSS Satellites; Processing: David J. Lorenz

   Explanation: Where have all the dim stars gone? From many places on the
   Earth including major cities, the night sky has been reduced from a
   fascinating display of thousands of stars to a diffuse glow through
   which only a few stars are visible. The featured map indicates the
   relative amount of light pollution that occurs across the Earth. The
   cause of the pollution is artificial light reflecting off molecules and
   aerosols in the atmosphere. Parts of the Eastern United States and
   Western Europe colored red, for example, have an artificial night sky
   glow over ten times that of the natural sky. In any area marked orange
   or red, the central band of our Milky Way Galaxy is no longer visible.
   The International Dark Sky Association suggests common types of
   fixtures that provide relatively little amounts of light pollution.

           Light Up Your Internal Night Sky: Random APOD Generator
                       Tomorrow's picture: open space
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       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
            NASA Official: Phillip Newman Specific rights apply.
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                      A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC,
                           NASA Science Activation
                             & Michigan Tech. U.

