Golden sky or Starry sky ?

The photograph below was taken on a summer's evening from the village of Rennes-le-Château (Aude, Occitanie). It shows the light pollution generated by a few artificial lights in the sky over the Pic de Bugarach. Its harmful effects on flora and fauna are now well documented. Read more ...

sous-menu Life on Earth : Introduction|3.5 billion years of evolution|Human-Nature Cohabitation>The Anthropocene

Golden sky or Starry sky ?

On this photograph taken from the village of Rennes le Château in the Aude, the Pic de Bugarach appears alternately surmounted by a golden sky and a starry sky. Few clouds dotting around the horizon reflect the light coming from the ground indeed : an artificial light generated by streetlights, car headlights - in a word, by human activities. This light pollution affects not only the observation of the starry sky, but also and especially the fauna, the flora, the fungi and the ecosystems. This phenomenon first appeared under the reign of Louis XIV who, to fight against crime, generalized public lighting in the streets of Paris. To date, it would concern no less than 20% of our planet. To fight against the inexorable expansion of this bright halo and its deplorable impact on biodiversity, the International Dark Sky Association has certified several international reserves of the starry sky in the world, including the Reserve of the Pic du Midi de Bigorre.

Photo Infos

Photographic conditions : Fuji X-E2 + Fujinon Lens XF 35mm F1.4 R - F/1.4 - 6.5 seconds - ISO 3200
Processing tool of the photography : Silkypix Developer Studio 7.1.8
Optimization of the display : 180 px/in + MozJPEG

Keywords : Pic de Bugarach, starry sky, Rennes le Chateau, Aude, artificial lighting, light pollution, a danger to ecosystems, biodiversity

Conference Slideshow

This photograph - accompanied by 21 other shots, makes up the slideshow of a lecture entitled « What are the limits of science? » given in 2016 at the Quai des Savoirs as well as at the Maison de la Philosophie in Toulouse (Occitanie). More info ...

Print-on-demand

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