Fabio Falchi

Istituto Superiore 'E. Fermi' - Mantova

As the use of coastal and offshore environments expands, there is a need to better understand the exposure of marine megafauna to anthropogenic activities that potentially threaten their populations. Individual satellite telemetry studies are often hampered by small sample sizes, providing limited information on spatiotemporal distributions of migr...

Light pollution is the alteration of the natural levels of darkness by an increased concentration of light particles in the night-time environment, resulting from human activity. Light pollution is profoundly changing the night-time environmental conditions across wide areas of the planet, and is a relevant stressor whose effects on life are being...

The horizontal irradiance at the sea surface is an informative light pollution indicator to study Artificial Light at Night (ALAN) effects on marine biodiversity (e.g.: zooplankton diel vertical migration). The Posch ratio (PR) for the horizontal irradiance (that is, the ratio of the horizontal irradiance to the zenith radiance) is a useful tool fo...

Unfettered access to dark night skies is rapidly diminishing, due to light pollution and satellite mega-constellations tracks. Scientists should wake up and do more to stand up to Big Light and Big Space and preserve this natural resource.

Artificial light at night is a pollutant that is rising fast, as demonstrated by Kyba et al. (1) work by analyzing ten of thousands observations by citizen scientists in the last 12 years. The study found that the dimmest stars are vanishing, progressively hidden by a 10 percent yearly increase of the sky background due to artificial lights. This i...

Data from citizen scientists reveal a worrying growth in light pollution over the past decade.

Light pollution at astronomical observatories is one of the main factors to be taken into account to preserve their scientific productivity and their useful lifetime. Using the Garstang–Cinzano model applied to the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) 2021 satellite radiance data, we have compared 28 sites, all hosting telescopes with...

Light pollution can be rigorously described in terms of the volume concentration of anthropogenic photons (light quanta) in the terrestrial atmosphere. This formulation, consistent with the basic physics of the emission, scattering and absorption of light, allows one to express light pollution levels in terms of particle volume concentrations, in a...

Light pollution can be rigorously described in terms of the volume concentration of anthropogenic photons (light quanta) in the terrestrial atmosphere. This formulation, consistent with the basic physics of the emission, scattering and absorption of light, allows one to express light pollution levels in terms of particle volume concentrations, in a...

Plain Language Summary When satellites take images of Earth, they usually do so from directly above (or as close to it as is reasonably possible). In this comment, we show that for studies that use imagery of Earth at night, it may be beneficial to take several images of the same area at different angles within a short period of time. For example,...

The spatial and angular emission patterns of artificial and natural light emitted, scattered, and reflected from the Earth at night are far more complex than those for scattered and reflected solar radiation during daytime. In this commentary, we use examples to show that there is additional information contained in the angular distribution of emit...

The presentation will detail the proposed N8 (Night) mission – Global Environmental Effects of Artificial Nighttime Lighting. It was originally proposed as Earth Explorer 11 to ESA (European Space Agency). At any moment, one half of the Earth’s surface is experiencing daytime and one half nighttime. Most Earth surface observation missions focus on...

Estimating the horizontal irradiance from measurements of the zenith night-sky radiance is a useful operation for basic and applied studies in observatory site assessment, atmospheric optics, and environmental sciences. The ratio between these two quantities, also known as the Posch ratio, has previously been studied for some canonical cases and re...

Modeling the hemispherical night sky brightness of anthropogenic origin is a demanding computational challenge, due to the intensive calculations required to produce all-sky maps with fine angular resolution including high-order scattering effects. We present in this Letter a physically consistent, semi-analytic two-parameter model of the all-sky r...

Modeling the hemispherical night sky brightness of anthropogenic origin is a demanding computational challenge, due to the intensive calculations required to produce all-sky maps with fine angular resolution including high-order scattering effects. We present in this Letter a physically consistent, semi-analytic two-parameter model of the all-sky r...

Estimating the horizontal irradiance from measurements of the zenith night sky radiance is a useful operation for basic and applied studies in observatory site assessment, atmospheric optics and environmental sciences. The ratio between these two quantities, also known as Posch ratio, has been previously studied for some canonical cases and reporte...

Could we enjoy starry skies in our cities again? Arguably yes. The actual number of visible stars will depend, among other factors, on the spatial density of the overall city light emissions. In this paper it is shown that reasonably dark skies could be achieved in urban settings, even at the center of large metropolitan areas, if the light emissio...

Could we enjoy starry skies in our cities again? Arguably yes. The actual number of visible stars will depend, among other factors, on the spatial density of the overall city light emissions. In this paper it is shown that reasonably dark skies could be achieved in urban settings, even at the center of large metropolitan areas, if the light emissio...

The prevailing regulatory framework for light pollution control is based on establishing conditions on individual light sources or single installations (regarding features like ULOR, spectrum, illuminance levels, glare, ...), in the hope that an ensemble of individually correct lighting installations will be effective to somehow solve this problem....

Light pollution modeling and monitoring has traditionally used zenith sky brightness as its main indicator. Several other indicators (e.g., average sky radiance, horizontal irradiance, and average sky radiance at given interval of zenith distances) may be more useful, both for general and specific purposes of ecology studies, night sky, and environ...

The prevailing regulatory framework for light pollution control is based on establishing conditions on individual light sources or single installations (regarding features like ULOR, spectrum, illuminance levels, glare, ...), in the hope that an ensemble of individually correct lighting installations will be effective to somehow solve this problem....

Light pollution modelling and monitoring has traditionally used zenith sky brightness as its main indicator. Several other indicators (e.g. average sky radiance, horizontal irradiance, average sky radiance at given interval of zenith distances) may be more useful, both for general and for specific purposes of ecology studies, night sky and environm...

The persistent increase of artificial light emissions is causing a progressive brightening of the night sky in most regions of the world. This process is a threat for the long-term sustainability of the scientific and educational activity of ground-based astronomical observatories operating in the optical range. Huge investments in building, scient...

The sustained increase of emissions of artificial light is causing a progressive brightening of the night sky in most of the world. This process represents a threat for the long-term sustainability of the scientific and educational activity of ground-based astronomical observatories operating in the optical range. Huge investments in building, scie...

ALAN (artificial light at night) can give, if done adequately, a lot of benefits for human society, but it affects reproduction, navigation, foraging, habitat selection, communication, trophic and social interactions of the biota in the same time. Taking into account dramatic increase in light pollution of the night sky and night environment during...

I describe a simple method to calculate Earth dimensions using only local measurements and observations. I used modern technology (a digital photo camera and Google Earth) but the exact same method can be used without any aid, with naked eye observations and distances measured by walking, and so it was perfectly accessible to Ancient Greek science.

Light pollution is one of the most rapidly increasing types of environmental degradation. To limit this pollution several effective practices have been defined: shields on lighting fixtures to prevent direct upward light; no over lighting, i.e. avoid using higher lighting levels than strictly needed for the task, constraining illumination to the ar...

Light pollution is a worldwide problem that has a range of adverse effects on human health and natural ecosystems. Using data from the New World Atlas of Artificial Night Sky Brightness, VIIRS-recorded radiance and Gross Domestic Product (GDP) data, we compared light pollution levels, and the light flux to the population size and GDP at the State a...

Modelling techniques for the propagation of light pollution in the atmosphere allow the computation of maps of artificial night sky brightness in any direction of the sky, involving a large number of details from satellite data. Cinzano et al. (2001a) introduced a method of mapping naked eye star visibility at the zenith from large areas based on s...

Modelling techniques for the propagation of light pollution in the atmosphere allow the computation of maps of artificial night sky brightness in any direction of the sky, involving a large number of details from satellite data. Cinzano et al. (2001a) introduced a method of mapping naked eye star visibility at the zenith from large areas based on s...

Light pollution is a worldwide problem that has a range of adverse effects on human health and natural ecosystems. Using data from the New World Atlas of Artificial Night Sky Brightness, VIIRS-recorded radiance and Gross Domestic Product (GDP) data, we compared light pollution levels, and the light flux to the population size and GDP at the State a...

Through the CVE1578632 resolution of April 24th, 2019, the Chilean Ministry of Environment started the review of the Norm of Emissions for the Regulation of Light Pollution DS043/2012 MMA. On May 31st, 2019, the Office for the Protection of the Qualities of the Skies of Northern Chile OPCC delivered to the MMA the document named Proposals from the...

Light pollution poses a growing threat to optical astronomy, in addition to its detrimental impacts on the natural environment, the intangible heritage of humankind related to the contemplation of the starry sky and, potentially, on human health. The computation of maps showing the spatial distribution of several light pollution related functions (...

Light pollution poses a growing threat to optical astronomy, in addition to its detrimental impacts on the natural environment, the intangible heritage of humankind related to the contemplation of the starry sky and, potentially, on human health. The computation of maps showing the spatial distribution of several light pollution related functions (...

Artificial light at night (ALAN) can be considered to be physical pollution, from the fact it operates against the natural characteristics of light/dark cycles. The strong evidence of the adverse effects of ALAN on animals and on human health should be balanced against the assumed (but yet to be proven) positive effects on safety and security. Lowe...

Sample of pioneer and influential studies on remote sensing at night on the last ten years.

Illumination of nocturnal environments is increasing steadily worldwide. While there are some benefits for mankind, light at night affects animals, plants, and human health by blurring the natural distinction between day and night. International regulations exist to protect the environment for the maintenance of human health but nocturnal darkness...

Artificial lights raise night sky luminance, creating the most visible effect of light pollution-artificial skyglow. Despite the increasing interest among scientists in fields such as ecology, astronomy, health care, and land-use planning, light pollution lacks a current quantification of its magnitude on a global scale. To overcome this, we presen...

Background: Artificial light at night affects locations distant from its source through light scattered back to earth from the sky (sky glow). Sky glow is visible in protected and undeveloped areas hundreds of kilometers from large cities. It degrades the scenic quality of the night sky, and may alter nocturnal environments and the visual performan...

Despite its centuries-old astronomical tradition and heritage, Italy is one of the most light polluted countries in the world. Thanks to the pressure of amateur and professional astronomers, since 1997 regional regulations have been progressively implemented across most of the territory. Yet, Italy still suffers from extreme light pollution, partic...

The 2014 LoNNe (Loss of the Night Network) intercomparison campaign is the second of four campaigns planned during EU COST Action ES1204. The goal of these campaigns is to understand systematic uncertainty inherent in observations of skyglow (light pollution). An innovation of this year’s campaign was to take measurements with many of the nstrument...

This article provides a presentation of four subject which, starting in different phases from the early Nineties, have been contributing in Italy to research, education, advocacy, and policy making on issues related to artificial light at night. The organizations range from a national research institute to non-governmental entities.

Despite constituting a widespread and significant environmental change, understanding of artificial nighttime skyglow is extremely limited. Until now, published monitoring studies have been local or regional in scope, and typically of short duration. In this first major international compilation of monitoring data we answer several key questions ab...

Despite constituting a widespread and significant environmental change, understanding of artificial nighttime skyglow is extremely limited. Until now, published monitoring studies have been local or regional in scope, and typically of short duration. In this first major international compilation of monitoring data we answer several key questions ab...

L'inquinamento luminoso è l'alterazione dei livelli naturali di luce nell'ambiente notturno a causa dell'immissione di luce artificiale. Numerose ricerche dimostrano che la luce artificiale può incidere sui meccanismi che regolano i ritmi biologici degli organismi viventi. Anche la salute umana può subire effetti, in quanto si viene a determinare u...

Despite constituting a widespread and significant environmental change, understanding of artificial nighttime skyglow is extremely limited. Until now, published monitoring studies have been local or regional in scope, and typically of short duration. In this first major international compilation of monitoring data we answer several key questions ab...

Background Light is essential for life on earth; but so is its absence. Life is adapted to natural cycles of light and darkness, and changing its rhythm has an impact on well-being. This is becoming increasingly clear as medical research has begun pointing toward adverse effects of artificial light at night on human health. Artificial light at nig...

In this paper we review new available indicators useful to quantify and monitor light pollution, defined as the alteration of the natural quantity of light in the night environment due to introduction of manmade light. With the introduction of recent radiative transfer methods for the computation of light pollution propagation, several new indicato...

Supplementary figures

Methods to map artificial night sky brightness and stellar visibility across large territories or their distribution over the entire sky at any site are based on the computation of the propagation of light pollution with Garstang models, a simplified solution of the radiative transfer problem in the atmosphere which allows a fast computation by red...

I describe a simple method to calculate the Earth’s dimensions using only local measurements and observations. I used modern technology (a digital camera and Google Earth) but the same method can be used with observations made by the naked eye and distances measured by walking, so it would have been accessible to ancient-Greek science.

In this paper, we present the results of a 12-yr campaign devoted to monitoring the sky brightness affected by different levels of light pollution. Different sites characterized by different altitudes and atmospheric transparency have been considered. The standard photometric Johnson B and V bands were used. An extinction measurement was performed...

I review recent progresses toward a second world atlas of the night-sky brightness. Almost all main steps have been or are being improved. I present up-to-date Extended Garstang Models (EGM), which provide a more general numerical solution for the radiative transfer problem applied to the propagation of light pollution in atmosphere. I present the...

We present the global monitoring of light pollution, night sky brightness and stellar visibility carried on by our group based on DMSP satellite data and we describe the products obtained. We summarise the situation of the artificial night sky brightness in the World and we present a map of the night sky brightness in Chile taking into account the...

We present a portable automatic instrument for monitoring night sky brightness and atmospherical transparency in astronomical photometrical bands. Main requirements were: fast and automatic coverage of the entire sky, lightness, transportability and quick set-up in order to take measurements from more sites in the same night, easily available comme...

We present the global monitoring of light pollution, night sky brightness and stellar visibility carried on by our group based on DMSP satellite data and we describe the products obtained. We summarise the situation of the artificial night sky brightness in the World and we present a map of the night sky brightness in Chile taking into account the...

We present the first World Atlas of the zenith artificial night sky brightness at sea level. Based on radiance calibrated high resolution DMSP satellite data and on accurate modelling of light propagation in the atmosphere, it provides a nearly global picture of how mankind is proceeding to envelope itself in a luminous fog. Comparing the Atlas wit...

We extend the method introduced by Cinzano et al. to map the artificial sky brightness in large territories from DMSP satellite data, in order to map the naked-eye star visibility and telescopic limiting magnitudes. For these purposes we take into account the altitude of each land area from GTOPO30 world elevation data, the natural sky brightness i...

We present a method to map the artificial sky brightness across large territories in astronomical photometric bands with a resolution of approximately 1 km. This is of use in quantifying the situation regarding night sky pollution, recognizing potential astronomical sites and allowing future monitoring of trends. The artificial sky brightness prese...

The world-wide problem of increasing light pollution is assessed through the development of global maps of the distribution of zenith sky brightness with a resolution of approximately 1 km. These maps are produced using satellite imagery which provides photometrically calibrated data over the surface of the Earth at night, combined with a model of...

We obtained the map of the zenith brightness of the night sky in Italy. The artificial sky brightness in each site is computed by integration of the contributions by each unitary area of surface obtained by applying a propagation function to the upward emission of the area as obtained from DMSP satellite night-time images. We also evaluated the emi...

We present the map of the artificial sky brightness in Europe in V band with a resolution of approximately 1 km. The aim is to understand the state of night sky pollution in Europe, to quantify the present situation and to allow future monitoring of trends. The artificial sky brightness in each site at a given position on the sky is obtained by int...

We present a project to map the artificial sky brightness in Europe in the main astronomical photometrical bands with a resolution better than 3 km. The aim is to understand the state of night sky pollution in Europe, to quantify the present situation and to allow future monitoring of trends. The artificial sky brightness in each site at a given po...

Light pollution, the alteration of the natural light levels in the night environment produced by man-made light, is one of the most rapidly increasing threats to the natural environment. The fast growth of the night sky brightness due to light pollution not only is damaging the perception of the starry sky but it is silently altering even the perce...

This is a comprehensive study of the light pollution in Italy using both ground based CCD sky brightness measurements in V and B bands and satellite data form DMSP OLS low and high fixed gain orbits. I present an analysis of the upward flux vs satellite nadir distance, vs cities population, vs region population, vs per capita income. I present the...