“We have really seen the sky fading. The stars disappear. In Belgium, on more than 90 % of the territory, we can no longer see the Milky Way”

The starry sky is a disappearance space

A privileged place: “It is a good site for Belgium. Moreover, Of course, because of light pollution, with us, there are no very good sites to observe the sky. Therefore, But let’s say that it is one of the least bad sites in the country!” Showing the horizon, where we distinguish public lighting, he explains: “Here we benefit from moderate lighting. Similarly, That is to say LED lighting, with posts well oriented towards the ground. In addition, Unlike the ancient lights that lit the sky. Therefore, the LEDs do not light up the sky directly, but by reflection on the road. Nevertheless, And as LED lighting is very powerful, there is a little bit of reflection towards the sky despite everything. Therefore, So we are not like in a big city, but “we have really seen sky it remains embarrassing. Moreover, ” Because obviously, it is difficult to see the stars, if the sky is lit by this artificial light … Nevertheless, as “intruder” light. Moreover, “There is also public lighting in the street, on the other side of the house, which dazzles, or the spot in my neighbor’s garden. Therefore, I never asked him to turn him off because I don’t want to bother him. For example, but that’s why I installed my telescopes, at the end of the garden. Furthermore, Closer to the house, I could not use them … Similarly, “

Night of shooting stars: when the sky falls on our heads

As night falls. Furthermore, the sky darkens, the stars begin to accompany the moon on the nocturnal vault. Nevertheless, Not even need a telescope to see them: “Look at this one, it’s Arcturus, it’s one of the brightest! Similarly, Another star that appears so quickly is the one above. Meanwhile, Her name is Vega “, Enthuses the astronomer. Vega is very high in the brilliant sky, whitish in color. In addition, And then, you have another lower star here, it’s Denebe. Furthermore, And then, a third star there, Altair. Consequently, These three stars form a triangle called the summer triangle, visible “we have really seen sky in July and August. “

From the sky. the stars, it could speak for hours: “I really like to look at the sky to the naked eye. Looking at the starry sky is a bit like meditation. We ask ourselves lots of questions “. And what question is he? “”But when are they going to cut this lighting? “, he replied, laughing. And to continue: “Now. in town, even in a clear park, we can only see the brightest stars, that is to say a dozen stars maximum. Many people say to me: “We went to such a place, and we saw lots of stars, it was extraordinary. We have never seen that”. And yes, indeed, here, we do not see any more! If we do not pay attention to light pollution. the human will be disconnected from the night sky, that is to say that he will “we have really seen sky no longer see the night sky in the city because there is too much light. He will see the moon, certainly, because it is very bright, but no more stars, plus the Milky Way. He will never imagine that he is on a very small place lost in the cosmos, a real paradise. “

&quot. we have really seen sky – "we have really seen sky

Dome above towns

Roland Boninsegna wishes to show us this night sky in his best light, bringing us in a place allowing to do astronomy “in the wild”, in the middle of the national park of between-and-and-meuse. First of all, you have to cross a few villages … and their public lighting. In a street in Nismes, which has preserved ancient worked lanterns, it grumbles: “It is not good lighting at all. They kept it because these old lamps are beautiful. but it pollutes, it lights up the “we have really seen sky sky, it lights up the rooms…. I don’t know if people are very happy. to have light in their room … It is not very good for health, it disturbs melatonin…”

Going exceeding a few sheep having fled their pasture. we arrive at a place called abanets, near the abyss of the Dog Fundry. Here, the sky, in its tree of trees, is now full of stars. Including kinds of whitish clouds … “We start to see the Milky Way (our galaxy “we have really seen sky seen from Earth, editor’s note), indeed, confirms the astronomer. It is exceptional, in Belgium. ” However… “Do you see this diffuse light, which makes the sky clearer at the bottom? It is light pollution, which comes in particular from the village below, Nismes. But it’s better than in my garden. because we are in the countryside here; We are further away from the lights.“Indeed. above agglomerations, the concentration of light creates great luminous domes; the more the population increases, the more the dome grows and the more this light diffuses in the atmosphere, lightening the sky and masking the stars.

Tourist argument

Roland Boninsegna’s dream? That all the municipalities of the between-and-Sambre National Park-and Meuse. where population density is unimportant, reduce, or even completely turn off their public lighting, from midnight, every day. “”The goal ist that night species and insects, in particular, can develop normally. And this also makes it possible to better observe the sky, with less light pollution. Which is of course a tourist argument! In the Entre-Sambre-et-Meuse National Park, there are areas that could be part of this “black frame”. For this, it is obviously necessary to assist the municipalities, and inter -municipalities that manage this public lighting. But, in general, they are not very open; The argument of insecurity is often advanced. However. we had to cut the lighting at certain times in Belgium and the police reported that there were not “we have really seen sky more flights. “

The Entre-Sambre-et-Meuse National Park. which intends to offer “Superb starry skies to visitors“, in any case wishes to develop a” black frame “(see opposite) in its five municipalities, by reducing the superfluous light points. A hundred of them have already been identified. Froidchapelle has just approved the work to remove fifteen on its territory.

Report in “A Liberty Forest” in the Entre-Sambre-et-Meuse National Park

In figure: 5 % more “we have really seen sky light pollution each year

For his part. the astronomer Emmanuel Jehin (Uliège) Alert: “In Belgium, we can no longer see the Milky Way by around 90 % of the territory. Small, I saw very well the Milky Way of my parents’ garden, but today it is no longer possible. Light pollution continued to progress; Since the 80s, 5 % more each year has been. We really saw our sky fading, attended the disappearance of the stars. We live without being aware of the cosmos above our heads. “