Ronny Syamara, an astronomer at the Jakarta Planetarium and Observatory, has said that Jakarta not only suffers from water and air pollution, but also light pollution.
Light pollution has caused many astronomical objects to become invisible from Jakarta. Some of the celestial objects still visible from the capital are planets, moons, and the very bright stars.
“But deep sky objects, those with dim lights, are hard to be seen with naked eyes,” Ronny said. He also added that the light quality in the capital is pretty bad. Digital billboards emitting lights have also worsened pollution, as the light emitted often reaches the atmosphere, leading towards the creation of a dome which covers the night sky. Therefore, most of the stars remain invisible in Jakarta’s skies.
Thomas Djamaluddin, head of the National Institute of Aeronautics and Space (Lapan) concurred with Ronny. According to Thomas, there is an overabundance of lights in Jakarta, especially near the planetarium area at Central Jakarta. “Only bright planets can be observed and a few stars,” Thomas added.
Source: Antara
Image: Intisari Online