Abstract
The measurement of night sky quality has become an important task in nature conservation. The primary device used for this task can be a calibrated digital camera. In addition, colour information can be derived from sky photography. In this paper, we provide a test on a concept to gather information about the possible sources of night sky brightness based on digital camera images. This method helps to understand changes in night sky quality due to natural and artificial changes in the environment. We demonstrate that a well-defined colour–colour diagram can differentiate between the different natural and artificial sources of night sky radiance. The colour information can be essential when interpreting long-term evolution of light pollution measurements.
Highlights
Light pollution, caused by the increasing level of artificial light at night (ALAN), has become a significant environmental problem in the last few decades
The area affected by ALAN and the brightness of light pollution is growing annually [1]
Artificial lights influence the natural behaviour of nocturnal animals by making them disoriented and misled by additional illumination, which affects foraging, reproduction, communication, and other critical behavioral patterns [2,3,4,5,6]
Summary
Light pollution, caused by the increasing level of artificial light at night (ALAN), has become a significant environmental problem in the last few decades. The area affected by ALAN and the brightness of light pollution is growing annually [1]. With the mechanism of altering the circadian cycle and inhibiting melatonin production in several species, including human, light pollution has adverse impacts on health and the natural quality of life [7,8,9,10]. One progressive step towards the optimisation between light requirements and environmental impact has been realized in the areas of Zselic and Bükk starry sky parks in Hungary, where the whole lighting system of two settlements has been reconstructed based on a special new design of LED lamps [12]. To determine the extent of light pollution at a given location, reliable measurement techniques and continuous monitoring are required
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