Artificial light at night is a growing environmental problem with impacts on plants, animals and humans. Data on light pollution or light sources on the ground is largely lacking. With our project "Night Lights", we invite all people to record light sources in their environment with the Night Lights app.

Satellite images of the earth at night show a worldwide increase in nocturnal light emissions and light pollution - also in Germany. However, reliable data on the origin of light emissions, i.e. the public, commercial and private light sources on the ground, are still largely lacking and cannot be determined by satellite. Furthermore, satellites cannot capture the temporal variability of light use, as they always fly over an area at the same time during the night.

This year, we will focus on investigating changes in light use during evening and nighttime hours. Through a citizen science co-design process, we have developed an app to count and map artificial light sources along streets - from illuminated windows and advertising signs to streetlights and traffic signals. In the fall of 2023, all interested parties are invited to count along with the Night Lights app!

Relation to the institutes main focus

In the project, we examine the extent to which lighting is dynamic, matching the activity patterns of people on streets.