| Keyword |
Description |
| Light pollution |
The extra artificial light that blocks the stars at night |
| Artificial lighting |
Light made by humans, not nature |
| Sleep cycle |
The body’s natural pattern of sleep and wake |
Mexico City used to have beautiful nights full of stars, but now the sky is empty because there is too much light pollution. All the lights from buildings, streetlamps, and advertisements make the night sky so bright that stars just disappear. Astronomer Omar López-Cruz says that it’s almost impossible for people in Mexico City to see the Milky Way, and even scientists can't study the stars properly. Light pollution is not only a problem here; many major cities around the world also cannot see stars because they have too much artificial lighting.
This extra light causes several problems besides hiding the stars. It affects animals like birds because they get confused during migration, and it also disrupts the natural sleep cycle for both wildlife and people. Many residents have trouble falling into a deep sleep because there’s always some light at night. To fix the problem, lawmakers created new rules to help cut down on extra lighting, but there still hasn’t been a big improvement.
Today, most young people in the city have never seen a truly dark sky or the Milky Way. To see stars clearly, people need to travel far away from the city to places with no artificial light. Without actions to stop light pollution, the night sky will stay hidden from people living in big cities for a long time.
Bridging words
These words sound similar in English and Spanish: Why not practice them now?
| English |
Spanish |
| Advertisements |
Anuncios |
| Major cities |
Ciudades principales |
| Light pollution |
Contaminación lumínica |
Time to discuss
- What causes the most light pollution in your city?
- Do you think dark skies are important for people?
- How could we make nighttime darker in our neighborhoods?
Let's write
Answer the following questions in one paragraph:
- Why do you think seeing stars is special?
- What can people your age do to help solve light pollution?
