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Citizen science illuminates the nature of city lights

This study employs a citizen science approach to identify and classify over 230,000 light sources in German city centers, suburbs and villages. The results underscore the pivotal role of citizen science in expanding knowledge of artificial light emissions and bolstering policymaking efforts to mitigate urban light pollution.

Our participants classified all of the light sources visible over a walking distance of 600 km during an observation period of over 500 h. Whereas space-based sensors 17, 25 can quickly survey large areas, they do not report what is actually installed on the ground (Fig. The Nachtlichter app was developed within a project called Nachtlicht-BüHNE (Citizen-Helmholtz Network for research on night light phenomena) 5, using a co-design process in which academic and citizen scientists met regularly over a several year period. Team Nachtlichter, Achim Tegeler, Aleksander Marz, Andrea Gokus, Andreas Hänel, Andreas Rienow, Andreas Ruby, Anja Glinka, Anna Marie Kyba, Arne Dröge-Rothaar, Axel Schwiesow, Benno Gillen, Bettine von Heereman, Brita Kuechly, Burhan Altıntaş, Christian Brock, Christopher Conrad Maximillian Kyba, Cormac McNally, Daniel Fischer, Daniele Dell’Osbel, David Gruber, Eva Constanze Weiß, Florian Distelrath, Frank Vohla, Friedrich Heine, Georg Sulzer, Georgia MacMillan, Gilbert A. Esquerdo, Gisela Anton, Hatice Altıntaş, Helga Ursula Kuechly, Henning von Brandis, Irina von Maravić, Isabell Charis Wuthenow, Jacob Koglin, Jacqueline Degen, Janina Mattern, Johannes A. Schultz, Johannes Veh, John C. Barentine, Jonas Schreibweis, Katharina Leiter, Kilian Modersitzki, Lena Klein, Marcus Langejahn, Maria Zschorn, Marijana Pavić, Maximilian Blaschke, Maximilian Köcher, Melanie Brauchler, Michaela Leipold, Nathalie Küppers, Nona Schulte-Römer, Normän Naboulsi, Peter Stumpf, Petra Bilela, Reinhart Binder, René Curwy, Russell Kyba, Sabine Frank, Sebastian Falkner, Sicco Bauer, Steffen Liese, Tamara Rom, Thomas Kunzemann, Vita Tičinović& Yiğit Öner Altıntaş

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