Noctalgia (sky grief): Our Brightening Night Skies and Loss of Environment for Astronomy and Sky Traditions

TL;DR

This paper introduces the concept of 'noctalgia' to describe the profound loss of natural night skies due to light pollution, emphasizing its impact on science, culture, and ecological health, and advocates for protective measures.

Contribution

It conceptualizes 'noctalgia' as a new term to express sky grief and highlights the urgent need to address light pollution's effects on environment and heritage.

Findings

Light pollution affects human and ecological health.

Loss of sky traditions and scientific heritage.

Calls for action to protect night skies.

Abstract

Fifty years after the first mention of light pollution in Science, the journal recently elevated this topic to the cover of its 16 June 2023 issue, highlighting the large impact on human and ecological health, circadian rhythms, migratory patterns, and more. We offer here the term noctalgia to express "sky grief" for the accelerating loss of the home environment of our shared skies - representing loss of science, heritage, millennia-old sky traditions, place-based language, and more - and summarize next steps to address the protection of our nighttime and daytime skies.