Samyukta is an advocate with the International Dark Sky Association, and a member of their International Committee. She currently works in Slovenia, designing experiences to help people connect with darkness and the night sky. Have you ever heard of Forest Bathing?  Well Samyukta can design a dark sky experience where you can go “Star Bathing.” Give this a listen and you’ll learn about “archeoastronomy” and “ethnoastronomy.”  

If you were fascinated with the previous episode with Peter, listen to this one.  He’s an expert in the field of human perception, but when you’re talking about bringing back the night sky, you’re bound to go into weird and wonderful areas of conversation. This episode touches on flotation tanks, meditation and lucid dreaming. The hour will fly by.

Dr. Rajaram Bhagavathula is a Senior Research Associate in the Division of Vehicle, Driver, & System Safety at Virginia Tech Transportation Institute. Dr. Bhagavathula has conducted some fascinating studies on the effects of light on drivers.  He talks about the effects of glare and light bands on driver behaviour, the hypnotic effect, the moth effect, dashboard lights… you'll never drive the same again. 

Robert is the founder and CEO of the Canadian Scotobiology Group Inc. that raises awareness of the impact of artificial light at night (ALAN) on wildlife and human health. Robert talks about “Eco Lights,” how much light you actually need in order to read, the shelf life of hormones and many other fascinating darkness related topics.  He even references the Moody Blues.

Peter has a PhD in Psychology studying human perception, action, and the link between them, with over a decade of experience in conducting research in these topics. Blue light, glare bombs, perception, infrared medicine...these are just a few of the fascinating things touched upon.  We only scratched the surface with Peter.  He’ll be back. 

Andy has been involved in astronomy education and outreach for over 25 years, and in the planetarium field for over 20.  Andy tells us about his successful techniques for teaching kids about the night sky. He’s also had some wins in cases involving “light privilege” and just plain ignorance. Inspiring. 

Barry Johnson is the volunteer webmaster for the Pennsylvania Outdoor Lighting Council, as well as a lecturer and consultant on outdoor lighting issues. In his retirement, Barry is a crusader against light trespass and pollution.  If you live in Pennsylvania and your neighbor’s flood light illuminates your bedroom wall, give Barry and his fellow POL Council members a call. 
 

Contact Barry @ http://www.polcouncil.org/ 

 Valerie Stimac Bailey is a travel, space, and astrotourism writer. She founded Space Tourism Guide in 2017, and her first book Dark Skies: A Practical Guide to Astrotourism was published by Lonely Planet in 2019. Valerie thinks that space travel will be available as a “bucket list” goal to the average person in the not too distant future. In the meantime, let’s make the night sky accessible to everyone so we can all experience “the Milky Way effect.” 

Deep Anand is an astronomy lover and dark sky enthusiast. Deep has been working to spread awareness about light pollution, from his home base in Delhi India. Deep is passionate about bringing the night sky back for the children. Maybe he’ll even get this issue onto the Prime Minister of India's desk. Deep has even written poetry about the night sky and the stars. And get this - he’s only 17!

Dr. George Schaaf is a veterinary pathologist working in the Comparative Medicine department at Wake Forest University School of Medicine. Dr. Schaaf studies the effects of light on animals and transfers the learnings to human physiology. You’ll hear about the effects of light and glare on deer, chickens and Syrian hamsters - as well as your beloved pets. He tells us why night matters for animals and about his efforts towards “re-wilding” the environment.