Light That Hides: On Light Pollution and the Loss of Night

In a month where we at the Palace of Science reflect on planet Earth from various perspectives, one question that is rarely asked is: what do we lose when the night stops to be dark? The modern world, illuminated by electric lighting, has extended the day and enabled new dynamics and forms of activity, work, and movement. Yet, that very same light, when it spins out of control, becomes a source of pollution that changes the way we see the sky, affects the living world, and disrupts the natural rhythms we depend on. Today, light pollution is one of the fastest-growing yet least obvious environmental problems. Branko Simonović will speak on these issues, introducing us to the topic of light pollution and helping us realize everything we lose and fail to see because, in our quest to see better, we have flooded our cityscapes with multicolored light. How does light shape our environment? In what way does it affect ecosystems, as well as our daily habits and perception of the world? This lecture is an invitation to think of light not only as a symbol of knowledge and progress but also as a phenomenon that, if not carefully considered, can obscure the very things we wish to illuminate.