Why every astronomy class should devote time to light pollution education

Abstract

Light pollution is a detrimental consequence of excess or unwise use of artificial light at night. Hopes for reducing light pollution have been rooted in educating teachers, students, and the general public. These programs manifest in a diverse set of disciplines. Many programs focus on connecting light pollution to the damaging biological and environmental effects. There are even efforts to connect solutions for light pollution to engineering education. “Globe at Night” is an educational program that engages participants in astronomical observations of the night sky to bring awareness to the problem of light pollution and lies squarely in the domain of observational astronomy. Many of these efforts make use of physics that goes “under the radar”; we advocate for making direct connections to the physics of light pollution to students and teachers.