Hy's Corner - Open for Discussion //Blog//

1. Starry Sky - Or is it not??

"Night sky filled with many twinkling stars" - Doesn't it sound so beautiful. But alas it isn't so beautiful anymore.

As I go up to my terrace every night to look at the sky, it feels so peaceful and pleasant. But lately it has become more painful.

They say you can't count the stars in the sky. But you know what, I've been able to count the number of stars visible to me. You try for yourself, you'll feel the same too. I started wondering, was I lied to at school? Probably not. It's just that I've been hidden from certain truths.

Now, if you google 'Night Sky', you'll find so many beautiful images. Dark blue or Black skies with (as they say) countless stars. But why isn't the same sky visible to me? So I asked my cousin the same question. And that is when I got to know about the existence of this thing called 'Light Pollution'.

Ok, since my school days I've heard about Soil pollution, Water pollution, Air pollution and even Sound Pollution. But this was new. Light pollution. Really? Yes. Now I'm not gonna give a lecture on what it is. But if I have to put it in a brief way, it is nothing but the blinding city lights over taking the natural light from the stars, making them invisible to our naked eye.

So, now the only places you can see such dazzling night sky is the forests, certain remote areas, mountains and similar secluded places. Do you know, that this light pollution is also affecting certain animals and indirectly causing their death? We'll leave that for another time.

I really wish someday I'll be able to witness a night sky full of stars, a sky which bewitches me into falling in love with it some more. Do you too?