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Light pollution is a big problem indeed, for all who love astronomy. At some point I realized that most modern people (at least in developed countries) have never seen Milky way in their life!

I realized this when I brought a German friend to a hike in the Smoky Mountains; at a clear night we saw starry sky, and my friendh was enormously impressed. For me there was nothing new in this since in my childhood (in Ukraine) I traveled a lot in the mountains and countryside. When a bright comet arrived, I could see its head from the city, but no tail. It was sufficient to drive 10 minutes away from the city to see the whole of it and even photograph it.

Similar comet arrived many years later when I was already living in Indiana. Again, I could see its head from the city (it looked like a bright but fuzzy star). So I decided to have a full view, and started driving around in the middle of night. I was searcing for few hours that night, and I was UNABLE to find a sufficiently dark place in the whole of central Indiana! The reason is that every farm has a very bright light outside which is on all the night. I asked myself "what for"? Why do people illuminate their backyards when they sleep?

I have no answer, except that the electricity is dirt cheap, and people simply do not care.

So there is probably nothing one can do about it. And I think this is a great loss for the whole humankind: people cannot see one of the most beautiful things in the world, the starry sky. Something that our ancestors could see almost every night. Nowadays this is possible only with special efforts, one has to travel to a desert or to some mountains. One unforgettable view I had during my travel to Atakama desert (in Chile): the Southern sky. With Magellan Clouds!

Immanuel Kant famously expressed that two things evoke awe in him: the starry heavens above and the moral law within him. There is no starry heavens anymore!