Light pollution rapidly reducing number of stars visible to naked eye, study finds

Research suggests if trend continues, view of Orion’s belt will disappear due to glow from artificial lighting

“There is no light in earth or heaven / But the cold light of stars,” wrote the poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.

But for myriad writers and artists, that source of inspiration could be fading as research has revealed light pollution is rapidly reducing the number of stars visible to the naked eye. The study, published in the journal Science, suggests locations with 250 visible stars at present will have just 100 visible stars in 18 years.