Aliens 'Blinded by Techno-Fog'
Human beings are isolating themselves from the rest of the Universe behind a "technological fog" of light pollution, radio interference and space junk, astronomers said yesterday [July 16].The night sky -- "an integral part of mankind's cultural heritage" - was rapidly disappearing for millions of people, said Dr Woodruff Sullivan of the University of Washington, as bright street lights blotted it out.
In addition, the faint echoes of creation heard by radio astronomers are being drowned by the insistent buzz of people using mobile phones, while ahead lie even greater horrors - advertising placards in space, or mirrors designed to reflect sunlight to dark corners of the Earth.
Dr Woodruff was one of the organisers of a four-day symposium in Vienna arranged by the International Astronomical Union and attended by scientists from 25 countries. They heard that astronomy, the oldest of all the sciences, was in danger.
The threats "are global in scale and effect, and long-term in nature", said Dr Johannes Andersen, general secretary of the IAU. "International efforts are needed to resolve them, as the UN already has done for the oceans and the Antarctic continent."
One report to the symposium, which ended yesterday, put figures on the waste incurred by spilling so much light into the sky. Every year the light that leaks from London costs nearly £2 million. New York does far worse, wasting more than £8.5 million a year.
The solution is to use good outdoor lighting techniques that not only protect the sky for astronomy but also improve night- time visibility.
Radio astronomers face the proliferation of satellites in low-Earth orbits which are used for mobile phone services.
[Source: The Times / London / By Nigel Hawkes - July 17 1999]
