The relation of outdoor lighting characteristics to sky glow from distant cities

Abstract

Five cities in the southwest United States were selected for an analysis of the impact of outdoor lighting practices on nighttime sky glow as observed from distances of 8–67 km. Data from the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (NPP) satellite visible infrared imaging radiometer suite day/night band were used to identify light sources for input to an atmospheric sky glow model. Total lumens of outdoor lighting were estimated by matching modelled to observed anthropogenic sky luminance at ground locations. The results of two conservative treatments were then modelled for each city: all outdoor luminaires fully shielded with the current lumen amount, and fully shielded luminaires with a lumen amount scaled to 2075 lm capita−1, matching Flagstaff, Arizona. The results indicate 42–88% reductions in average all-sky glow utilizing these ‘best practices’ for environmental conservation.