Our bright lights are causing the sky to be dim at night

More than one-third of the world’s population can no longer see the Milky Way because of man-made lights. Photo: Reuters

One third of stargazers around the world can’t see the Milky Way at night because of “light pollution” from buildings, street lamps and other forms of artificial illumination on Earth, according to a new study.

The night time glow of artificial lights used to be a nuisance mainly affecting astronomers, but in recent years the effects are being felt by casual observers of the night sky as well.