Böcker av Anna Levin

New from the popular In the Moment series-in search of the darkest night skies, Anna Levin uncovers a sense of wonder about the universe that will help you to understand more about our own pale blue dot.The darkness of the night represents something unknowable and mysterious. But when we look up, we can find celestial light shows, whole galaxies, and even a new perspective on our Earthly concerns. The night sky offers us an essential connection to something bigger than ourselves, a vast, timeless expanse that extinguishes our individual concerns.Humans have tried to make sense of the night sky since ancient times. From physicists and meteorologists to astrologists, artists, philosophers and poets, it has been a source of inspiration, wonder, and exploration. But now, our relationship to the night sky is changing as our access to darkness is under threat. Light pollution all over Earth can be seen from space, altering the landscape and outlining the coasts. And if we look from Earth into space, we can see artificial light there, too.In this concise volume, Anna Levin looks at how we can learn from and nurture our relationship with the night sky, even-especially-in the context of our changing world.

Light is changing, dramatically. Our world is getting brighter - you can see it from space. But is brighter always better? Artificial light is voracious and spreading. Vanquishing precious darkness across the planet, when we are supposed to be using less energy. The quality of light has altered as well. Technology and legislation have crushed warm incandescent lighting in favour of harsher, often glaring alternatives. Light is fundamental - it really matters. It interacts with life in profound yet subtle ways: it tells plants which way to grow, birds where to fly and coral when to spawn. It tells each and every one of us when to sleep, wake, eat. We mess with the eternal rhythm of dawn-day-dusk-night at our peril. But mess with it we have, and we still don't truly understand the consequences. In Incandescent, journalist Anna Levin reveals her own fraught relationship with changes in lighting, and she explores its real impact on nature, our built environment, health and psychological well-being. We need to talk about light, urgently. And ask the critical question: just how bright is our future?