21 September 2023 , 11:44
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Many of us enjoy camping out and watching the night’s sky - but the heavens are changing beyond our comprehension, a new report has warned.
Light pollution around large towns and cities means many people cannot see the stars above us when the sun goes down. Adding to the problem are the number of satellites in the sky, with around 8,200 in orbit of the planet meaning nights are never truly dark. The changes have given birth to a new term known as noctalgia - also called sky grief - and is said to be affecting many people’s health and well being as a result.
A report into the condition by authors Professor Aparna Venkatesan from the University of San Francisco and John C. Barentine from Dark Sky Consulting reads: “We offer here the term noctalgia to express “sky grief” for the accelerating loss of the home environment of our shared skies, a disappearance felt globally and deserving its own field of study of “nyctology”.
“This represents far more than mere loss of environment: we are witnessing loss of heritage, place-based language, identity, storytelling, millennia-old sky traditions and our ability to conduct traditional practices grounded in the ecological integrity of what we call home. This is especially true for those disproportionately impacted by climate change, the COVID-19 pandemic, and broader social inequities, including Indigenous communities.
“As most cyclical indicators involving migratory birds/animals, weather patterns, pollinators and native plants are increasingly altered with climate change, the skies effectively represent a last stand of heritage, calendaring, language, and food sovereignty for many global communities. How can we invite collaborative solutions in the face of this unprecedented threat to the skies, when so many in 2023 are experiencing crisis fatigue and young people are losing hope for the planet’s future?
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“As some of the Science articles note, ground-based light pollution has several promising near-term solutions. Impacts to our skies from large satellite constellations and space debris are more complicated to address given the current regulatory landscape and (lack of) legal protections for space and skies as an environment.”
The condition is similar to (SAD), which is believed to affect around two million people in the UK and can cause severe symptoms of depression lasting for months. The disorder is also sometimes known as "winter depression" because it is commonly associated with the colder months, however there are two types of SAD.
Fall-Onset, which is the type that is known as "winter depression", is when symptoms can begin in the late autumn and are usually at the most severe during the winter. This is the most common type of SAD.
There is also a type called spring-onset or "summer depression", which is when the symptoms appear during spring and summer months.