The Very Real Ways That Light Pollution Affects Your Sleep and Mood

Artificial outdoor lighting doesn’t just drown out the stars

This composite satellite image shows the relative intensity of artificial lights in the United States at night. Image: NASA

When the lights went out in Los Angeles after an earthquake in 1994, people called emergency centers to report a strange, giant, silvery cloud overhead. It was something they’d never seen before, something many humans alive today have not seen: the…