LIGHT POLLUTION: A STUDY BASED ON THE ASSESSMENT OF ACTUAL CASES

PATTINI, ANDREA; GARCÍA, BEATRIZ; CANTÓN, MARIA ALICIA; CÓRICA, LORENA; MARTINEZ, CLAUDIA; ENDRIZZI, MARTÍN; FERRÓN, LEANDRO; RIZZI, ANDRES; CICERO, ALEJANDRA

Prague, Czech Republic

Congreso; 26th meeting of the IAU, 26th General Assembly of the International Astronomical Union; 2006

AbstractArtificial lighting, which has become a necessity to facilitate human activity at night-time, contributes to the so-called Light Pollution. When such pollution occurs, the visibility of the night sky is degraded and an unnecessary amount of energy is wasted. Since the 80s, light pollution has been under study and several cities around the world have already regulated the use of luminaires -specially regarding public lighting- in order to prevent it. In Malargüe, in the south of the Province of Mendoza, an ordinance was adopted on April 14^th 2005 to protect the sky from light pollution. In accordance to this ordinance, an interdisciplinary team will address itself to the task of assessing the impact of regular luminaires and of those luminaires suitable for light pollution control in Malargüe. The present study includes a general description of the problem as well as the preliminary results of the measurements already conducted.