The Spectrum of the Night Sky Over Kitt Peak: Changes Over Two Decades

TL;DR

This study compares spectrophotometric data of the Kitt Peak night sky over two decades, revealing that overall sky brightness has remained stable, with localized increases due to urban light pollution, and that lighting ordinances have been effective.

Contribution

It provides the first long-term spectrophotometric comparison of the Kitt Peak night sky, accounting for solar activity variations to assess true changes in sky brightness.

Findings

Sky brightness has remained stable over 20 years after solar correction.

Urban light pollution has increased in the direction of Tucson.

Lighting ordinances have effectively maintained dark skies.

Abstract

New absolute spectrophotometry of the Kitt Peak night sky has been obtained in 2009/10, which we compare to previously published data obtained in 1988 and 1999, allowing us to look for changes over the past two decades. A comparison of the data between 1988, 1999 and 2009/10 reveals that the sky brightness of Kitt Peak has stayed remarkably constant over the past 20 years. Compared to 1988, the 2009/10 data show no change in the sky brightness at Zenith though, as expected, the sky glow has increased most dramatically in the direction of Tucson. Comparisons between the 1999 and 2009/10 data suggest that the sky has actually decreased in brightness compared to 10 years ago. However, the older data were both taken during times of increased solar activity. When we correct the measurements for the solar irradiance fluctuations, we find that compared to 20 years ago, the sky is ~0.1 magnitude brighter at Zenith and ~0.3 magnitudes brighter towards Tucson. But even after these corrections, we still find that the sky over Kitt Peak is comparable to what it was 10 years ago at Zenith and ~0.1 magnitude darker towards Tucson. This suggests that the strengthened lighting ordinances Tucson and Pima County established in the early 2000s have been quite effective. With some care, the Kitt Peak night sky will remain this dark many years into the future.