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# Lights Out

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Most people in North America can't see the Milky Way. The reason? We're ensconced in a luminous fog of artificial lighting 24/7. The evolution of lighting technology over the last century has made it possible to live, work, and play at any hour—day or night. But light pollution affects all life on earth, from humans to plants and insects. So, how did we find ourselves surrounded by a glowing shroud of electricity... and can we have the dark, without giving up the light?

Transcript

Guests:
- Hal Wallace , curator of electricity collections, Smithsonian National Museum of American History
- Lisbeth Fuisz , coordinating director, Lights Out D.C.
- Brian Schmidt , museum specialist, Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History
- Diane Turnshek , Astronomer; Dark Skies Advocate

This episode was produced in collaboration with the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History. Their new exhibition *Lights Out: Recovering Our Night Sky* is on view March 23, 2023, until April 2025. Discover why dark nights matter, rekindle your connection with the night sky, and consider how much light at night is enough—for whom, for what purpose, and who gets to decide?

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      Subscribe        From the Collections-  Beaded Artwork: "Night Sky" 
-  2c Edison's First Lamp coil single 
-  Live Bird Friendly: Turn Lights Out and Treat Windows to Keep Birds Safe 
-  Milky Way 
-  Electric light patent from Collection of United States patents granted to Thomas A. Edison, 1869-1884. 
-  Earth Day and Light Pollution: Air and Space Live Chat 
-  Pattern of Stars Called the Milky Way 
-  Telescope 
-  *Untitled* 
-  light, night 
-  Telescope 
-  At Home Astronomy: How You Can Observe the Night Sky - STEM in 30: Season 8, Episode 1 
-  "New Type Edison" incandescent lamp 
-  Common Eastern Firefly 
-  Marine Science in the Morning: Ashley Miller Chelberg 
-  Night Sky 
-  Origami Universe: Flasher: A Mini Folding Space Telescope 
-  Atlantic Hawksbill Sea Turtle 
-  Trees Against the Night Sky 
-  Melospiza georgiana georgiana 
-  Ach Rèalt na Glanmhaigdine ina ga ar an Uisce 
-  Audubon Warbler 
-  LED Wallpaper 
-  Abralia veranyi 
-  Night Time Sky 
-  Night Reflections 
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