This is the second part of a 2-part series of posts exploring the idea of nighttime as a habitat, originally published in 2023 by Noctia Institute. You can read Part 1 here. Living creatures need both space and time in the conditions they have adapted to in order to survive. In Part 1, I mentioned that …
Exploring how anthropogenic lighting can shrink the physical habitat of nocturnal creatures.
This work, supported by a grant from the IAU Office of Astronomy for Development, focuses on using astrotourism as a tool for socioeconomic development in rural communities. By expanding the traditional science-based approach to include local strengths such as cultural heritage and natural environments, astrotourism was recontextualised into the broader definition of night sky tourism. …
“First, do no harm.” — Hippocrates Via negativa is a Latin term that translates to “the negative way” or “by way of negation”. Originating from Christian theology, this term was employed to describe the ineffable nature of God. Given that God is inherently unknowable, via negativa offers a means of understanding him by describing all …
This database catalogues the effects of light at night, both natural and artificial, on wildlife species local to Kenya. Artificial light at night is an understudied threat on the African continent, and by compiling information about the sensitivity of wildlife to light, I hope to encourage further study and sensitivity to the use of light, …
The impact of light at night on Kenya’s wildlife Read More »
This piece was originally published in 2021 by Space in Africa. We typically associate darkness with low economic development. Dark sky maps show us how dark the night sky looks from a particular place. A quick look at the dark sky map below shows us that the illuminated area on the African continent is extremely …
How dark skies can contribute to Africa’s development Read More »