﻿ Astronomy Picture of the Day [1]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 [2]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: [3]JPSS Satellites; Processing: [4]David J. Lorenz Explanation: Where have all the dim stars gone? From many places on the [5]Earth including major cities, the night sky has been reduced from a [6]fascinating display of [7]thousands of stars to a diffuse glow through which [8]only a few stars are visible. The [9]featured map indicates the relative amount of [10]light pollution that occurs [11]across the Earth. The cause of the pollution is artificial light reflecting off [12]molecules and [13]aerosols in the atmosphere. Parts of the Eastern [14]United States and [15]Western Europ[16]e colored red, for example, have an [17]artificial night sky glow over ten times that of the natural sky. In any area marked orange or red, the [18]central band of our Milky Way Galaxy is [19]no longer visible. The [20]International Dark Sky Association suggests [21]common types of fixtures that provide relatively little amounts of [22]light pollution. Light Up Your Internal Night Sky: [23]Random APOD Generator Tomorrow's picture: open space __________________________________________________________________ [24]< | [25]Archive | [26]Submissions | [27]Index | [28]Search | [29]Calendar | [30]RSS | [31]Education | [32]About APOD | [33]Discuss | [34]> __________________________________________________________________ Authors & editors: [35]Robert Nemiroff ([36]MTU) & [37]Jerry Bonnell ([38]UMCP) NASA Official: Phillip Newman [39]Specific rights apply. [40]NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices A service of: [41]ASD at [42]NASA / [43]GSFC, [44]NASA Science Activation & [45]Michigan Tech. U. References 1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html 2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2303/WorldSkyBrightness_JpssLorenz_5848.jpg 3. https://www.nesdis.noaa.gov/about/our-offices/joint-polar-satellite-system-jpss-program-office 4. https://djlorenz.github.io/ 5. https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/earth/in-depth/ 6. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap010110.html 7. https://coolcosmos.ipac.caltech.edu/ask/206-How-many-stars-can-you-see-at-night- 8. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap200408.html 9. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:World_light_pollution.jpg 10. https://www.darksky.org/light-pollution/ 11. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap220213.html 12. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molecule 13. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/langley/news/factsheets/Aerosols.html 14. https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/united-states/ 15. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Europe 16. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Western_Europe.ogv 17. http://www.lightpollution.it/dmsp/artbri.html 18. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap070930.html 19. https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3180/3006830170_68269d8ab1.jpg 20. http://www.darksky.org/ 21. https://www.darksky.org/our-work/lighting/lighting-for-industry/fsa/fsa-products/ 22. https://nightsky.jpl.nasa.gov/news-display.cfm?News_ID=939 23. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/random_apod.html 24. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap230307.html 25. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html 26. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html 27. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html 28. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search 29. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html 30. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod.rss 31. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html 32. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html 33. https://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=230308 34. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap230309.html 35. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html 36. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/ 37. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html 38. http://www.astro.umd.edu/ 39. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply 40. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html 41. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/ 42. https://www.nasa.gov/ 43. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/ 44. https://science.nasa.gov/learners 45. http://www.mtu.edu/