If you’ve ever wondered why you can’t see many starts in the city at night, it’s called light pollution. UT Austin and the McDonald Observatory are spending this week educating people on what they’re missing when they blank out the night sky with unnecessary or badly-aligned bulbs.

As explained in this week’s issue, light pollution doesn’t sound like a big deal, but it has serious environmental, ecological and medical effects.

The positive part? As Rowena Evans, editor of the International Dark-Sky Association‘s Nightscape magazine, said it’s the only form of pollution that can disappear with a flick of a switch.

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This article appears in June 25 • 2010.

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The Chronicle's first Culture Desk editor, Richard has reported on Austin's growing film production and appreciation scene for over a decade. A graduate of the universities of York, Stirling, and UT-Austin, a Rotten Tomatoes certified critic, and eight-time Best of Austin winner, he's currently at work on two books and a play.