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Welcome to the Star Party

From: Salt Institute for Documentary Studies
Length: 04:39

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In the past decade, dark sky festivals have become attractions in parks across the U.S.  Read the full description.

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The story is about a dark night sky festivals at Acadia National Park in Bar Harbor, Maine. Dark Sky Festivals started around a decade ago, as park rangers and astronomers noticed that light pollution was slowly diminishing the night sky, causing the stars to disappear. But further research has shown that light pollution also disrupts animals' circadian rhythms, altering feeding times and in turn ratios of predator and prey. In addition, scientific studies now show that the disruption of humans' circadian rhythm could be one cause of breast cancer. 

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Piece Description

The story is about a dark night sky festivals at Acadia National Park in Bar Harbor, Maine. Dark Sky Festivals started around a decade ago, as park rangers and astronomers noticed that light pollution was slowly diminishing the night sky, causing the stars to disappear. But further research has shown that light pollution also disrupts animals' circadian rhythms, altering feeding times and in turn ratios of predator and prey. In addition, scientific studies now show that the disruption of humans' circadian rhythm could be one cause of breast cancer. 

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