MEMORANDUM OF SUPPORT
NEW YORK OUTDOOR LIGHTING ACT A739-A
The American Astronomical Society, North America’s premier organization of professional and amateur astronomers, was established in 1899 and is based in Washington, DC. Our membership is about 8,500, and our mission is to enhance and share humanity’s scientific understanding of the universe as a diverse and inclusive astronomical community.
The AAS strongly supports the New York Outdoor Lighting Act A739-A (Rosenthal).
Excessive and poorly controlled outdoor lighting brightens the night sky, making stars, the Milky Way, and other astronomical wonders difficult or impossible to see with the naked eye. It directly impedes astronomical research, which is carried out at dozens of public and private universities and observatories across the state of New York. Astronomy education and outreach have for generations relied on access to the dark, starry sky, which is increasingly washed out by light pollution: a recent study1 based on 50,000 citizen science observations showed that light pollution is growing at an average rate of 10% per year worldwide.
Beyond its impact on astronomy, light pollution has important social and environmental costs. It represents a waste of energy and money2, can be dangerously blinding to road users, and can seriously harm both human health and natural ecosystems3. Astrotourism – the fastest growing sector of international tourism4, in which paying customers seek authentic nighttime experiences under starry skies – is negatively affected by light pollution, reducing potential economic benefits to local communities. Protecting natural darkness at night from light pollution has myriad benefits. It reduces hazardous glare; saves municipalities money by reducing waste; improves human health; boosts local economies by making New York’s historic cities and towns more beautiful and attractive. It protects wildlife including migrating birds5, pollinating insects6 and plants, including agricultural crops; helps bring back the stars and the Milky Way, currently invisible to over 90% of New York’s population;7 and enables millions of New York State K-12 and university students to study the cosmos from their schools and campuses.
Fortunately, light pollution can be dramatically reduced with simple, proven, common-sense measures. If passed by the NY State Legislature and signed into law, the New York Outdoor Lighting Act A739-A will result in robust templates for municipal legislation on outdoor lighting being distributed to all cities and towns across New York. This will greatly accelerate the adoption statewide of carefully vetted and thoroughly tested lighting bylaws. Currently, New York cities and towns are on their own when it comes to developing lighting bylaws, resulting in confusion, delays in passing sound legislation, and a patchwork of hugely diverse and even contradictory bylaws statewide. Passing the Outdoor Lighting Act will strengthen communities across New York State and rebuild its citizens’ connection with the night sky.
We therefore respectfully urge the New York State Legislature to pass the Outdoor Lighting Act and send it to Governor Hochul’s desk to be signed into law.
1 Kyba, C. C. M., et al. (2023). Citizen scientists report global rapid reductions in the visibility of stars from 2011 to 2022. Science, 379(6629), 265–268. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abq7781
2 DarkSky International. “Light pollution wastes energy and money and damages the climate”
https://darksky.org/resources/what-is-light-pollution/effects/energy-climate/
3 DarkSky International. (2025). “Artificial Light at Night: State of the Science 2025”. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/ZENODO.15492393
4 Thomas, A. (2024 August 5). “If You Can Do It, You Can Do It at Night”. New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/05/travel/astrotourism-snorkeling-hiking-photography.html
5 Horton, K. G., et al. (2023). Artificial light at night is a top predictor of bird migration stopover density. Nature Communications, 14(1). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-43046-z
6 Owens, A. C. S., et al. (2020). Light pollution is a driver of insect declines. Biological Conservation, 241, 108259. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2019.108259
7 Falchi, F., et al. (2016). The new world atlas of artificial night sky brightness. Science Advances, 2(6). https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.1600377