Data collected by citizen scientists around the world over the past 12 years shows that the night sky is disappearing due to rapid increases in light pollution.
The data, reported today in the journal Science, indicates the change in visibility reported is equivalent to an average increase in sky brightness of 9.6 per cent per year.
"The rate at which people are reporting that they see fewer stars was shockingly fast," said Christopher Kyba, who led the study.
Read the full article by Genelle Weule ABC here:
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Artificial lights in urban areas have dulled our view of the night sky.(Supplied: NOIRLab/NSF/AURA, P. Marenfeld)