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Star Count 2022 results

Star Count 2022 results

18th May 2022

Night skies outlook is bright, CPRE Star Count results suggest

Want to enjoy our beautiful night sky? Your chances of seeing it are improving as CPRE’s 2022 Star Count found that star gazers are enjoying their best views of the night sky since our annual Star Count began in 2011, with severe light pollution continuing to fall since its 2020 peak 

A significant reduction in severe light pollution levels, first recorded during lockdown last year, has continued, according to the results of a nationwide star count. Despite lockdown being well and truly behind us there does not appear to have been a corresponding increase in light levels from outdoor and street lighting. 

The ‘lockdown legacy’ of working from home and rising energy prices has created an opportunity to permanently improve our view of the night sky. Office-based organisations switching to permanent home working, coupled with employers’ desire to reduce electricity bills, appear to have led to fewer lights being left on overnight. This, alongside households being more conscious about wasting energy and councils reducing street lighting and switching to better lighting design, are believed to be behind the continued reduction in light pollution. 

About Star Count 

Over 2,500 people took part in the annual Star Count, the country’s biggest citizen science project of its kind, between February 26 and March 6. Participants were asked to report the number of stars they could see in the Orion constellation.

What we found

The results suggest the great news that severe light pollution, defined as being able to see 10 or fewer stars with the naked eye, has continued to fall. After peaking in 2020, when 61% of participants reported seeing 10 stars or fewer, severe light pollution fell to 51% in 2021 and continued its slide this year, to 49%.

Emma Marrington, CPRE’s dark skies campaigner, said:

‘Half of the people who took part in Star Count experienced severe light pollution that obscures their view of the night sky. This is bad for wildlife and human health – and the energy being needlessly wasted is bad financially and bad for our planet.  But the good news is that these results show small adaptations can make a big difference. If there is a silver lining from the legacy of lockdown and, now, the soaring cost of energy, it is that it has never been clearer how simple it is to cut carbon emissions and energy bills while improving our natural environment.’ 

Why we love a starry, starry sky

A clear view of a star-filled night sky has a hugely beneficial effect on our mental health and, like access to other forms of nature, helps reduce stress and increase a sense of peace and wellbeing. Research has even shown that regularly spending time looking at the stars can lower blood pressure and reduce depression. Yet, the night sky, which is a hugely significant part of our natural environment, has no legal protection. 

What you can do

Turning off garden lights when not needed, dimming street lights and reducing office lighting could permanently reduce carbon emissions and cut energy bills while improving the natural environment for wildlife and human health.

Other solutions that could reduce both light pollution and energy use include councils investing in well-designed lighting, used only where and when needed. They can also adopt policies in local plans to reduce light pollution and protect and enhance existing dark skies in their areas.  

Crispin Truman, chief executive of CPRE, the countryside charity, said: 

The night sky is one half of our experience of nature; but we don’t often think of it like that. In and of itself, it helps balance our mental health and boost our emotional wellbeing. Recollect that experience of a starry sky and you instinctively know it soothed you.  But our view of the night sky – and all the benefits it undoubtedly brings – is being blotted out by light pollution. Like all forms of pollution, it is damaging our mental and physical health, and also having a severe impact on wildlife. Yet, it is a form of pollution that is allowed to increase year on year without any effort being made to control the damage it is causing.’  

Results for Star Count 2022

Stars counted  

Number  

Percent  

0>5  

283  

11.1  

6>10  

958  

37.6  

11>15  

663  

26.0  

16>20  

311  

12.2  

21>25  

163  

6.4  

26>30  

94  

3.7  

>30  

78  

3.1  

  

  

  

TOTAL  

2550  

100.0  

Star Count results for Dorset - Unfortunately, the weather in Dorset was overcast at the time of the star count initiative.

Stars counted

Number

Percent

0>5

2

4.1

6>10

17

34.7

11>15

14

28.6

16>20

10

20.4

21>25

4

8.2

26>30

2

4.1

>30

0

0.0

TOTAL

49

100.0

 

Star Count results compared to previous years: 

  

Number of stars counted within the constellation of Orion  

  

Year  

0 > 5  

6 > 10  

11> 15  

16 > 20  

21 > 25  

26 > 30  

31 >   

  

2007  

14%  

40%  

24%  

12%  

6%  

2%  

2%  

100%  

2011  

16%  

43%  

22%  

11%  

5%  

2%  

1%  

100%  

2012  

14%  

39%  

23%  

13%  

6%  

3%  

2%  

100%  

2013  

17%  

37%  

22%  

10%  

6%  

3%  

5%  

100%  

2014  

19%  

39%  

21%  

9%  

5%  

3%  

4%  

100%  

2019  

15%  

42%  

22%  

11%  

7%  

2%  

2%  

100%  

2020  

18% 

43% 

22% 

9% 

4% 

1% 

3% 

100% 

2021  

12%  

40%  

24%  

12%  

6%  

2%  

5%  

100%  

2022  

11%  

38%  

26%  

12%  

6%  

4%  

3%  

100%  

About Star Count  

Star Count is an annual citizen science project from CPRE, the countryside charity, and the British Astronomical Association. From 26 February-6 March 2022, the public were asked to look heavenwards during a clear night and count how many stars within Orion they could spot.   

View the interactive map showing the results of Star Count 2022 on the CPRE Website.

 

 

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