Uploaded March 2025 | Updated September 2026, 1 day ago
On 30 January 2025, the Royal Astronomical Society held a free one-day conference on Light Pollution and its Impacts at our offices in Burlington House, London.
The conference had multiple sessions from invited speakers, with representation from organisations including the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Dark Skies, Buglife, CPRE, Dark Skies Cumbria, Dark Sky UK and Dark Sky International.
Sessions covered topics such as policy and regulation, the environment and biodiversity, and human health. We explored approaches to effectively tackle light pollution, looking at the current regulatory landscape in the UK, opportunities for improvement, local interventions, and best practices here and from elsewhere in the world.
Programme:
Introduction 00:00 - 06:19
Opening: Stephen Benn (Viscount Stansgate) 06:19 - 22:24
Political Landscape and Regulation:
1. Yana Yakushina (Space Court Foundation) 23:02 - 41:36
2. David Smith (Buglife) 41:36 - 56:17
Nature & Environmental Impact
1. Tim Smyth (Plymouth Marine Laboratory) 01:09:55 - 01:21:05
2. David Smith (Buglife) 01:21:21 - 01:37:07
3. Kevin Gaston (DarkSky Int'l) 01:37:29 - 01:54:47
4. Dani Robertson (Prosiect Nos Partnership) 01:54:53 - 02:14:37
Online Q&A 02:15:37 - 02:18:00
Human Health - Meghan Eaves 02:18:09 - 02:19:51
1. Robert A E Fosbury 02:19:51 - 02:38:31
2. Christopher Barnes (University of Derby) 02:38:59 - 02:57:37
3. Anna Levin (Author, Dark Skies; LightAware Charity) 02:58:20 - 03:13:18
Case Studies I:
1. Roy Alexander (Dark Skies UK) 03:14:31 - 03:29:23
2. Jack Ellerby (Cumbria Dark Skies Officer, Friends of the Lake District) 03:29:30 - 03:49:24
3. Emma & Yolande Watson (CPRE) 03:49:24 - 04:05:28
Case Studies II:
1. Dan Oakley (Darkscape Consulting) 04:05:28 - 04:17:06
2. Duncan Wise (Northumberland National Park) 04:17:09 - 04:32:56
*Duncan's Demonstration 04:28:20 - 04:32:56*
Q&A 04:33:02 - 04:36:38
Closure & Chair: Andrew Griffith MP 04:36:40 - 04:45:37
Q&A with Andrew Griffith MP 04:45:37 - 05:01:20
Final words 05:01:20 - 05:04:28
Image credit: Jan Huber on Unsplash unsplash.com/photos/aerial-view-of-city-lights-during-night-time-AODshZ42KZE
On 30 January 2025, the Royal Astronomical Society held a free one-day conference on Light Pollution and its Impacts at our offices in Burlington House, London.
The conference had multiple sessions from invited speakers, with representation from organisations including the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Dark Skies, Buglife, CPRE, Dark Skies Cumbria, Dark Sky UK and Dark Sky International.
Sessions covered topics such as policy and regulation, the environment and biodiversity, and human health. We explored approaches to effectively tackle light pollution, looking at the current regulatory landscape in the UK, opportunities for improvement, local interventions, and best practices here and from elsewhere in the world.
Programme:
Introduction 00:00 - 06:19
Opening: Stephen Benn (Viscount Stansgate) 06:19 - 22:24
Political Landscape and Regulation:
1. Yana Yakushina (Space Court Foundation) 23:02 - 41:36
2. David Smith (Buglife) 41:36 - 56:17
Nature & Environmental Impact
1. Tim Smyth (Plymouth Marine Laboratory) 01:09:55 - 01:21:05
2. David Smith (Buglife) 01:21:21 - 01:37:07
3. Kevin Gaston (DarkSky Int'l) 01:37:29 - 01:54:47
4. Dani Robertson (Prosiect Nos Partnership) 01:54:53 - 02:14:37
Online Q&A 02:15:37 - 02:18:00
Human Health - Meghan Eaves 02:18:09 - 02:19:51
1. Robert A E Fosbury 02:19:51 - 02:38:31
2. Christopher Barnes (University of Derby) 02:38:59 - 02:57:37
3. Anna Levin (Author, Dark Skies; LightAware Charity) 02:58:20 - 03:13:18
Case Studies I:
1. Roy Alexander (Dark Skies UK) 03:14:31 - 03:29:23
2. Jack Ellerby (Cumbria Dark Skies Officer, Friends of the Lake District) 03:29:30 - 03:49:24
3. Emma & Yolande Watson (CPRE) 03:49:24 - 04:05:28
Case Studies II:
1. Dan Oakley (Darkscape Consulting) 04:05:28 - 04:17:06
2. Duncan Wise (Northumberland National Park) 04:17:09 - 04:32:56
*Duncan's Demonstration 04:28:20 - 04:32:56*
Q&A 04:33:02 - 04:36:38
Closure & Chair: Andrew Griffith MP 04:36:40 - 04:45:37
Q&A with Andrew Griffith MP 04:45:37 - 05:01:20
Final words 05:01:20 - 05:04:28
Image credit: Jan Huber on Unsplash unsplash.com/photos/aerial-view-of-city-lights-during-night-time-AODshZ42KZE
