In a new study for Science Advances, an international team of researchers created the most detailed atlas yet of light pollution around the world. They estimate that the Milky Way is no longer visible to fully one-third of humanity — including 60 percent of Europeans and 80 percent of Americans. Artificial light from cities has created a permanent "skyglow" at night, obscuring our view of the stars. The research team, led by Fabio Falchi of the Light Pollution Science and Technology Institute in Italy, used low-light imaging data from NOAA/NASA's Suomi polar-orbiting satellite to create the map, calibrating the data with thousands of ground readings. http://www.vox.com/2016/6/10/11905390/light-pollution-night-sky
I have a mate with a "scope living on the outskirts of Sydney near the foot of the Blue Mountains, and he certainly has noticed the differences over the years with the Sydney sprawl. On a brighter note when I was in Fiji a few years ago, I was laying back on a remote beach with my pair of trusty 7x50's binos, and I captured a great view of three of the Galilean Satellites.
