Excess of light
Here, in the Universe series

Composição de imagens que ilustra a degradação do céu noturno produzida pela iluminação artificial

Esta composição de imagens, obtidas na Eslováquia em 2020, ilustra a degradação do céu noturno produzida pela iluminação artificial. A poluição do ambiente com excesso de luz – poluição luminosa – não afeta apenas a observação do céu mas também organismos e ecossistemas, como aves que migram durante a noite. Créditos: Tomáš Slovinský/IAU OAE

The second session of the lectures series Aqui, no Universo (“Here, in the Universe”), organized by Culturgest in partnership with Instituto de Astrofísica e Ciências do Espaço (IA).

With Raul Cerveira Lima and Martin Pawley, and hosted by Maria Serrano

What contact with the night sky can we still have in towns and cities? How are we polluting the night with all our electric dazzle? If we consider the stars or the Milky Way as a natural heritage, how can we allow ourselves to erase them from our memory with our excess light?

Out in space, we witness huge illuminated areas covering the Earth. Urban growth has invaded natural reserves and disrupted nocturnal ecosystems, introducing light into the lives of species that depend on the darkness. Astronomical observatories no longer carry out scientific observations and are now reduced to museums.

Raul Cerveira Lima, of the Instituto de Astrofísica e Ciências do Espaço (IA) (Institute of Astrophysics and Space Sciences), Universidade de Coimbra e Politécnico do Porto, and Martin Pawley, of Agrupación Astronómica Coruñesa Ío (Astronomical Group of La Coruña, Ío), critic and film programmer, are both experts in light pollution, and will talk about light, its excesses, and simple ways in which people, institutions, architecture, and urbanism can preserve the night and our contact with the Cosmos.

The host will be Maria Serrano, science communicator and member of the Portuguese Network for the Communication of Science and Technology – SciComPt.

Find the updated information on Culturgest website.

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Duration:

2 hours

Free entrance


Registration

Ticket pickup (free) 30 minutes before the session starts (subject to room capacity).

Location

Culturgest, Emílio Rui Vilar Auditorium
Edifício-sede da Caixa Geral de Depósitos
Rua Arco do Cego, 50
Lisboa

How to get there

Subway: Campo Pequeno
Busses: Campo Pequeno, Praça de Londres and Av. Roma