Measuring and monitoring light pollution: Current approaches and challenges.

Understanding the causes and potential mitigations of light pollution requires measuring and monitoring artificial light at night (ALAN). We review how ALAN is measured, both from the ground and through remote sensing by satellites in Earth orbit. A variety of techniques are described, including single-channel photometers, all-sky cameras, and drones.

Aerosol impact on light pollution in cities and their environment.

Measurements of artificial light at night represent an incredible challenge as the optical state of the atmosphere is highly unstable thus making both long-term trend analyses and inter-comparison of multiple observations difficult. Variations of atmospheric parameters, caused by either natural or anthropogenic processes, can massively influence the level of resulting night sky brightness caused by light pollution. Focusing on six parameters, either from aerosol optics or emission properties of light sources, this work literarily and numerically examines defined variations in aerosol optical depth, asymmetry parameter, single scattering albedo, ground surface reflectance, direct uplight ratio, and aerosol scale height.

Light pollution as a factor in breast and prostate cancer.

Light pollution is a global environmental issue that affects photosensitive organisms. For instance, several researchers have recognized melatonin suppression in humans as a direct cause of long-term exposure to high artificial light levels at night. Others have identified low melatonin levels as a risk factor for a higher prevalence of hormone-sensitive cancer.

Air pollution mitigation can reduce the brightness of the night sky in and near cities.

Light pollution is a novel environmental problem whose extent and severity are rapidly increasing. Among other concerns, it threatens global biodiversity, nocturnal animal migration, and the integrity of the ground-based astronomy research enterprise. The most familiar manifestation of light pollution is skyglow, the result of the interplay of outdoor artificial light at night (ALAN) and atmospheric scattering that obscures views of naturally dark night skies.

Night-sky radiometry can revolutionize the characterization of light-pollution sources globally.

The city emission function (CEF), describing the angular emission from an entire city as a light source, is one of the key elements in night-sky radiance models. The CEF describes the rate at which skyglow depends on distance and is indispensable in any prediction of light-pollution propagation into nocturnal environments. Nevertheless, the CEF remains virtually unexplored because appropriate retrieval tools have been unavailable until very recently.

Submicrometer-sized nonspherical particle separation by laser beam.

The radiation pressure exerted on sub-micrometer-size particles is shown to be an important factor predetermining the impact coordinates of the particles after being illuminated by a laser beam. Unlike spherical particles, the nonspherical ones can be deflected perpendicularly to the beam direction if the momentum transfer from the laser beam to a particle is large enough. Such an optical sorting is a useful technology, which can be used to isolate spherules of a specific size from a population of particles of random sizes and shapes.

Generalization of electromagnetic scattering by charged grains through incorporation of interband and intraband effects.

Scattering of electromagnetic radiation by electrically charged spherical particles is treated theoretically. A generalization of the approach is performed by incorporating both intraband and interband effects, while a new oscillatory term corresponding to the classical dispersion theory and the semi-quantum approach is considered. It is shown through a set of numerical experiments that interband effects may reduce the amplitude of resonant peaks for scattering, Q(sca), and absorption, Q(abs), and cause a shift of peak positions to longer wavelengths.

Effect of charged-particle surface excitations on near-field optics.

The mechanism of charge on the near-field intensity distribution is revealed for metallic and dielectric particles with sizes ranging from 10 nm to 10 μm. The theoretical foundation of near-field intensity perturbations is in the discontinuity of the tangential components of the magnetic fields on either side of the interface between the particle and its surrounding medium, since excess electrons form a thin metal-like layer with elevated conductivity. We have shown that the local fields alter marginally if charges are imposed on a surface of a metallic particle.

Evaluating potential spectral impacts of various artificial lights on melatonin suppression, photosynthesis, and star visibility.

Artificial light at night can be harmful to the environment, and interferes with fauna and flora, star visibility, and human health. To estimate the relative impact of a lighting device, its radiant power, angular photometry and detailed spectral power distribution have to be considered. In this paper we focus on the spectral power distribution.

Skyglow effects in UV and visible spectra: radiative fluxes.

Several studies have tried to understand the mechanisms and effects of radiative transfer under different night-sky conditions. However, most of these studies are limited to the various effects of visible spectra. Nevertheless, the invisible parts of the electromagnetic spectrum can pose a more profound threat to nature.

Light pollution in ultraviolet and visible spectrum: effect on different visual perceptions.

In general terms, lighting research has been focused in the development of artificial light with the purpose of saving energy and having more durable lamps. However, the consequences that artificial night lighting could bring to the human being and living organisms have become an important issue recently. Light pollution represents a significant problem to both the environment and human health causing a disruption of biological rhythms related not only to the visible spectrum, but also to other parts of the electromagnetic spectrum.

Optics of hemispherical top dome and its effect on tubular light guide efficiency: diffuse light case.

To predict the energetic effectiveness of a tubular light guide accurately, a theoretically founded approach has to be used rather than any empirical approximation. The computed illuminance below a light guide can become inaccurate if neither Fresnel's equations nor realistic optical path lengths in a cupola are taken into consideration. It is shown that incorporation of both of them into a theoretical model results in lowered luminous flux below the light guide.

Scattering of electromagnetic waves by charged spheres: near-field external intensity distribution.

This Letter treats the scattering of electromagnetic waves by an electrically charged spherical particle in near-field approximation. Particular attention is paid to the external intensity distribution at the outer edges of the particle. The difference between scattering by a charged sphere and an electrically neutral sphere is significant only when size parameters exceed unity.

Approximate analytical scattering phase function dependent on microphysical characteristics of dust particles.

The approximate bulk-scattering phase function of a polydisperse system of dust particles is derived in an analytical form. In the theoretical solution, the particle size distribution is modeled by a modified gamma function that can satisfy various media differing in modal radii. Unlike the frequently applied power law, the modified gamma distribution shows no singularity when the particle radius approaches zero.

Light pollution simulations for planar ground-based light sources.

The light pollution model is employed to analyze spatial behavior of luminance at the night sky under cloudless and overcast conditions. Enhanced light excess is particularly identified at cloudy skies, because the clouds efficiently contribute to the downward luminous flux. It is evident that size of ground-based light sources can play an important role in the case of overcast sky conditions.

Light-pollution model for cloudy and cloudless night skies with ground-based light sources.

The scalable theoretical model of light pollution for ground sources is presented. The model is successfully employed for simulation of angular behavior of the spectral and integral sky radiance and/or luminance during nighttime. There is no restriction on the number of ground-based light sources or on the spatial distribution of these sources in the vicinity of the measuring point (i.

Reevaluation of the quondam dust trend in the middle atmosphere.

Quondam lunar eclipse photometry data offered valuable information on the optical properties of the middle atmosphere, including dust particles. However, in comparison with nonspherical grains, the simple model of spherical particles has a different effect on solar radiation penetrating horizontally through the atmosphere. It is shown that the systems, in which the smallest size fraction of dust particles dominates, reduce irradiation of the Earth's shadow more efficiently if the grains are of irregular shape.