USU student mapping Cache Valley light pollution

Rachel Nydegger has always loved the stars. And during a summer visit to the small town of paradise, south of Logan, the Utah State University student was reminded why.  

"I had forgotten how beautiful the night sky is,” she said. “If more people knew, they'd do more about it.”

Nydegger is certainly trying to do her part. As an undergraduate researcher, she's studying the ways in which light pollution — the spread of artificial light into the night sky — has spread across northern Utah.

Already, the physics major has tracked light pollution on the Utah State campus. She now intends to map the rest of Cache Valley.

Mark Brunson, the head of USU's Department of Environment and Society, said light pollution falls into two primary categories.

“Scientists distinguish between 'ecological light pollution,' which covers disruption of ecological and physiological processes by artificial light, and 'astronomical light pollution,' in which night lighting makes it harder to see the stars,” Brunson said.

From what she's seen already, Cache Valley demonstrates both types of light pollution, Nydegger said. 

“Everything's a problem," she said. "Most people don't understand how much they're impacting the wildlife and the night sky.”

Among her concerns: migratory animals can be thrown off-course by city lights. But Nydegger has also identified financial reasons to reduce light pollution.

“I tell people how much money they're wasting lighting up the sky,” she said. “It's a tough economy. Everyone is looking to save money.”

There is also some evidence, Brunson noted, that artificial night lighting is associated with human health impacts.

“A study in Israel found that the amount of artificial nighttime lighting was linked to the percentage of women who develop breast cancer," he said. "They're not entirely sure why, but part of the explanation is that women with breast cancer tend to be deficient in the hormone melatonin, which is secreted at night.”

Brunson believes light pollution hasn't been raised as a major issue of public concern because it's become the norm for industrial society.

“Almost everyone alive today grew up in a world where lots of artificial night lighting was the normal condition,” he said. “We're not as aware of the negatives because we've never known anything different.”

Nydegger hopes her research will raise awareness about the issue.

Her recent study, “Mapping USU Light Pollution,” was presented at Utah's Undergraduate Research Day on Jan. 31.

That has pleased Brunson, whose teaching is focused on the ways in which humans interact with and impact natural systems.

“There's a significant global need for more research on this issue,” he said.

Mary Taggart, Sam Bennion, Landon Kohler, Hannah Heninger and Amanda Ahlman contributed to this article.